The clinical outcome of bioactive-glass coated hip prostheses

摘要

A bioactive glass, previously described in literature, was clinically tested as a coating for hip prostheses. The glass was designed to be degradable in-vivo. Early implants in humans have been performed in 1991, giving 8 years as the longest follow-up. Authors investigated the clinical performance of the cementless bioactive-glass coated stem versus a cemented un-coated one; they matched two groups who had equal: a)-stem design; b)-surgical technique; c)-sex distribution. Fifty-two implants of a bioactive-glass coated hip stems were studied. They showed a good clinical response and a decrease in early-6-months thigh pain. Only two loosening have been recorded up to now. No significative differences have been observed between cementless coated stems and cemented un-coated stems; this fact stresses the point that surgical technique and stem design are probably more important than materials alone for the good outcome of hip prostheses.