Jp. Collier et al., IMPACT OF GAMMA-STERILIZATION ON CLINICAL-PERFORMANCE OF POLYETHYLENEIN THE KNEE, The Journal of arthroplasty, 11(4), 1996, pp. 377-389
Damage and rapid wear of the ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene b
earings of knee components continue to be major sources of failure of
knee pros theses. Despite considerable research into the roles of desi
gn, polyethylene thickness and quality, and component alignment, the s
ource of the rapid wear failures has remained a mystery. This study do
cuments elevated oxidation resulting from the use of gamma sterilizati
on in air, the most common sterilization technique used by the orthopa
edic implant industry This oxidation reduces static strength and elong
ation properties and significantly decreases the resistance of polyeth
ylene bearings to fatigue, a frequent source of early damage of many o
f these devices.