Severe wear from retrieved alumina-on-alumina coupled implant: a case report

This study details the in vivo wear behavior of an alumina acetabular cup a nd a femoral head on a retrieved non-cemented hip prosthesis. A commercial alumina ceramic-on-ceramic prosthesis was retrieved from a pat ient previously treated for bilateral hip arthrosis in "coxa profunda". Mas sive wear was found on the retrieved alumina ceramic head and acetabular cu p. The total measured penetration depth was 1.9 mm while the total calculat ed weight loss for the acetabular cup was 6.06 g. The study underlines the head-cup instability caused by cup loosening as ma jor cause of severe ceramic wear.