No or Extremely Low Wear Debris from Cross-Linked Polyethylene Cups: Histomorphology of Retrieved Tissues from Early Revisions of Total Hip Endoprostheses

摘要

Hip simulator tests, analyses of retrieved components as well as radiostereometric measurements revealed that cups made of highly cross-linked polyethylene (hclPE) show, in the long run, a better wear performance than cups of conventional polyethylene (cPE).Usually, the femoral head penetration into the cup is higher in the early postoperative period. Thereafter the penetration rate increases linear in cups made of cPE, while it clearly lowers after about 6 months in hclPE cups The higher early penetration has been attributed to factors like wear, creep or bedding in. Information about the amount of abraded PE particles would be helpful to decide which of the three factors is the most important one. However, to the best of our knowledge, histornorphological studies of tissues from the surrounding of highly hclPE components have not been reported yet. The aim of this study was to examine such tissues for particles, released from hclPE cups and to compare the findings with those of cPE.