Large diameter metal on metal total hip arthroplasty (MOM THA) have shorter lengths of implantation due to increased failure caused by wear either at the articulating surface as well as the taper-trunnion interface. Taper-trunnion wear may be worse in large diameter MOM THA due the increased torque at the taper-trunnion interface. However little has been done to understand how differences in taper-trunnion geometry and trunnion engagement effects wear. The purpose of this study was to (1) measure the differences in taper geometry and trunnion engagement on the head-taper of 11/13, 12/14, and Type 1 taper designs and (2) to determine if taper geometry affects fretting, corrosion, and wear at the taper interface. We identified 54 MOM THA primary revision implants with head diameters greater than 36 mm from our retrieval archive. Patients' charts were queried for demographic information and pre-revision radiographs were measured for cup inclination and cup anteversion. To measure taper geometry and wear the head tapers were imaged using Redlux©. The point clouds obtained from this were analyzed in Geomagic©. Taper angles and contact length where the trunnion engaged with the female taper of the head-tapers were measured. The diameter of the taper at the most distal visual area of trunnion engagement was also measured. Best fit cones were fit to the unworn regions to approximate the pristine surface. Differences between the raw data and the unworn surface were measured and volumetric wear rates were calculated. Fretting and corrosion of the head-taper was graded using the Goldberg Scoring.Introduction:
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