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Multicenter Study
. 2014 Sep;29(9 Suppl):205-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2013.12.034. Epub 2014 May 28.

Mechanically assisted taper corrosion in modular TKA

Christina M Arnholt  1 , Daniel W MacDonald  1 , Mariya Tohfafarosh  1 , Jeremy L Gilbert  2 , Clare M Rimnac  3 , Steven M Kurtz  4 ; Implant Research Center Writing Committee; Gregg Klein  5 , Michael A Mont  6 , Javad Parvizi  7 , Harold E Cates  8 , Gwo-Chin Lee  9 , Arthur Malkani  10 , Mattheuw Kraay  11
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Mechanically assisted taper corrosion in modular TKA

Christina M Arnholt et al. J Arthroplasty. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence of taper damage in modular TKA components. One hundred ninety-eight modular components were revised after 3.9±4.2 years of implantation. Modular components were evaluated for fretting corrosion using a semi-quantitative 4-point scoring system. Design features and patient information were assessed as predictors of fretting corrosion damage. Mild-to-severe fretting corrosion (score ≥2) was observed in 94/101 tapers on the modular femoral components and 90/97 tapers on the modular tibial components. Mixed alloy pairs (p=0.03), taper design (p<0.001), and component type (p=0.02) were associated with taper corrosion. The results from this study supported the hypothesis that there is taper corrosion in TKA. However the clinical implications remain unclear.

Keywords: TKA; corrosion; fretting; modularity; retrieval.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example femoral condyle stereomicrographs illustrating the scoring system used to evaluate fretting corrosion in modular TKA (A). Example femoral stem stereomicrographs illustrating the scoring system used to evaluate fretting corrosion in modular TKA (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bar graph showing the prevalence of fretting and corrosion, through a semi quantitative scoring method, in TKA separated by anatomical location.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Case study of a modular femoral implant with mismatched alloy coupling with a male taper (A) and female taper (B) fretting and corrosion score of 4. It was implanted for 7.75 years.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Box plot depicting differences between conical and threaded taper junctions with respect to fretting and corrosion score. The male and female tapers were depicted separately.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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