V. Saikko et al., Metal release from total hip articulations in vitro - Substantial from CoCr/CoCr, negligible from CoCr/PE and alumina/PE, ACT ORTH SC, 69(5), 1998, pp. 449-454
Citations number
27
Categorie Soggetti
Ortopedics, Rehabilitation & Sport Medicine","da verificare
We used a hip joint simulator to compare the metal release from CoCr/CoCr,
CoCr/PE, and alumina/PE total hip articulations. The metal release was quan
tified by analyzing the Co, Cr, and Ni contents of the bovine serum lubrica
nt used with atomic absorption spectroscopy. CoCr/CoCr articulations releas
ed substantial amounts of metal, whereas CoCr/PE was equal to the control,
alumina/PE, in that metal release was negligible. The metal release was in
accordance with the known clinical wear rates of CoCr/CoCr articulations. T
he largest dimensional changes occurred in polyethylene cups, the penetrati
ons of CoCr heads to the polyethylene cups being twice that of the alumina
head, which is consistent with clinical experience. The research on the wea
r behavior of different materials, aiming to find a prosthesis with negligi
ble wear, needs to be continued. Due to the substantial metal release, the
CoCr/CoCr articulation is hardly the final solution of the wear problem in
total hip arthroplasty.