High Stress Conditions Do Not Increase Wear of Thin Highly Crosslinked UHMWPE
- 1 February 2010
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
- Vol. 468 (2), 418-423
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-1154-6
Abstract
Introduction of highly crosslinked polyethylene has increased interest in large femoral heads, because thin acetabular liners can be used while maintaining low wear rates and larger heads decrease the incidence of instability. However, crosslinking and subsequent thermal treatments can cause decreased mechanical properties that might obviate the reduced wear under extreme conditions. To examine whether increased contact pressures would adversely affect wear in thin liners, we tested thin and thick highly crosslinked liners (3.8 mm thickness/44-mm head and 7.9 mm thickness/36-mm head, respectively) to 5 million cycles on a hip simulator under near impingement conditions. Conventional polyethylene liners (7.9 mm thickness/36-mm head) served as controls. Large femoral heads with highly crosslinked polyethylene liners as thin as 3.8 mm in thickness do not wear at a higher rate than a thicker liner of the same material, even when subjected to large contact pressures such as occur under near-impingement conditions. Crosslinked polyethylene may allow for liners that are thinner than has been traditionally accepted. This conclusion, however, is based solely on wear test results with idealized cup position, no intentional edge loading, no head subluxation, and no artificial aging. Continued monitoring will be necessary to elucidate the clinical efficacy of these devices.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Five-Year Comparative Study of Highly Cross-Linked (Crossfire) and Traditional PolyethyleneThe Journal of Arthroplasty, 2009
- Does Highly Cross-Linked Polyethylene Wear Less Than Conventional Polyethylene in Total Hip Arthroplasty?: A Double-Blind, Randomized, and Controlled Trial Using Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric AnalysisThe Journal of Arthroplasty, 2008
- Comparison of Hip Simulator Wear of 2 Different Highly Cross-linked Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Acetabular Components Using Both 32- and 38-mm Femoral HeadsThe Journal of Arthroplasty, 2007
- 5-year experience of highly cross-linked polyethylene in cemented and uncemented sockets: Two randomized studies using radiostereometric analysisActa Orthopaedica, 2007
- The Basis for a Second-generation Highly Cross-linked UHMWPEClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2006
- A Randomized Prospective Evaluation of Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty Using Cross-linked Marathon and Non–cross-linked Enduron Polyethylene LinersThe Journal of Arthroplasty, 2006
- Fatigue crack propagation resistance of virgin and highly crosslinked, thermally treated ultra-high molecular weight polyethyleneBiomaterials, 2006
- Contact stress assessment of conventional and highly crosslinked ultra high molecular weight polyethylene acetabular liners with finite element analysis and pressure sensitive filmJournal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 2006
- Deformation, yielding, fracture and fatigue behavior of conventional and highly cross-linked ultra high molecular weight polyethyleneBiomaterials, 2005
- Adaptiive finite element modeling of long‐term polyethylene wear in total hip arthroplastyJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 1996