Quantifying The Relationship Between Oxidative Degredation And Surface Damage In Retrieved Crosslinked And Conventional Polyethylene Tibial Components

摘要

Oxidative degradation has been shown to adversely affect the wear resistance of conventional ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE), leading to osteolysis. Crosslinked tibial components have shown improved abrasive/adhesive wear compared to conventional in vitro simulator studies. No studies to date have examined the relationship between oxidative degradation and surface damage in retrieved Crosslinked PE tibial components. The objectives of this study was to quantify the surface damage and oxidative degradation in retrieved Crosslinked and conventional PE tibial components. The null hypothesis was that there would be no significant correlation between surface damage and oxidation index (OI). density, or %crystallinity.