Abstract
Edge loading commonly occurs in all bearings in hip arthroplasty. The aim of this study compares metal bearings with edge loading to alumina bearings with edge loading and to metal bearings without edge loading.
Seventeen failed large diameter metal-on-metal hip bearings (8 total hips, 9 resurfacings) were compared to 55 failed alumina-on-alumina bearings collected from 1998 to 2010. The surface topography of the femoral heads was measured using a chromatically encoded confocal measurement machine (Artificial Hip Profiler, RedLux Ltd.).
The median time to revision for the metal hip bearings and the alumina hip bearings was 2.7 years. Forty-six out of 55 (84%) alumina bearings and 9 out 17 (53%) metal bearings had edge loading wear (p<0.01). The average volumetric wear rate for metal femoral heads was 7.87 mm3/yr (median 0.25 mm3/yr) and for alumina heads was 0.78 mm3/yr (median 0.18 mm3/yr) (p=0.02).
The average volumetric wear rate for metal heads with edge loading was 16.51 mm3/yr (median 1.77 mm3/yr) and for metal heads without edge loading was 0.19 mm3/yr (median 0 mm3/yr) (p=0.1). There was a significant difference in gender, with a higher ratio of females in the alumina group than the metal group (p=0.02).
Large diameter metal femoral heads with edge loading have a higher wear rate than smaller alumina heads with edge loading. Metal-on-metal bearings have low wear when edge loading does not occur.
