Fixation and wear with a contemporary acetabular component and cross-linked polyethylene at minimum 10-year follow-up

Abstract

Long term total hip arthroplasty follow-up has demonstrated bearing surface wear and failure of fixation as the major modes of failure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the minimum 10year results of a third generation cementless acetabular component using moderately cross-linked polyethylene liners. 150 primary THAs were evaluated clinically for need for revision and activity evaluated using accelerometers, WOMAC, Tegner and UCLA activity-level scores. Radiographs were evaluated for wear, osteolysis and loosening. We compared this cohort to three of our previously reported cohorts. The only revision was unrelated to liner wear and all acetabular components were bone ingrown. There were no cases of acetabular osteolysis and one case of femoral osteolysis. Average steps per year were 1.59 million. Mean steady state wear rate averaged 0.04mm/year. At 10-years, excellent fixation and low wear were demonstrated using a cementless acetabular construct and moderately cross-linked polyethylene liner.

Level of evidence: Therapeutic study, Level III (retrospective comparative study-prospective cohort with historical control).

Keywords: activity level; cementless acetabular component; cross-linked polyethylene; outcomes; wear.