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Review
. 2015:2015:758123.
doi: 10.1155/2015/758123. Epub 2015 Apr 14.

Head-neck taper corrosion in hip arthroplasty

S Hussenbocus  1 , D Kosuge  1 , L B Solomon  2 , D W Howie  2 , R H Oskouei  3
Affiliations
Review

Head-neck taper corrosion in hip arthroplasty

S Hussenbocus et al. Biomed Res Int. 2015.

Abstract

Modularity at the head-neck junction of the femoral component in THA became popular as a design feature with advantages of decreasing implant inventory and allowing adjustment of leg length, offset, and soft tissue balancing through different head options. The introduction of a new modular interface to femoral stems that were previously monoblock, or nonmodular, comes with the potential for corrosion at the taper junction through mechanically assisted crevice corrosion. The incidence of revision hip arthroplasty is on the rise and along with improved wear properties of polyethylene and ceramic, use of larger femoral head sizes is becoming increasingly popular. Taper corrosion appears to be related to all of its geometric parameters, material combinations, and femoral head size. This review article discusses the pathogenesis, risk factors, clinical assessment, and management of taper corrosion at the head-neck junction.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagrammatic representation of a femoral head-neck taper junction consisting of a female bore (B) and male trunnion (T). The trunnion length (TL), proximal cone diameter (PCD), distal cone diameter (DCD), and cone angle (CA) are displayed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effect of a long, thin taper junction (a) and a short, thick taper junction (b) on impingement and range of motion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Illustration to demonstrate the effect that trunnion length has on cone angle with a constant proximal and distal diameter, for example, in a “12/14” taper. With increasing trunnion length (TL1 > TL2), the cone angle decreases (CA1 < CA2) assuming the proximal cone diameter and distal cone diameter remain constant.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mechanically assisted crevice corrosion in different scenarios of angular mismatch: (a) head angle, α, greater than neck angle, β; and (b) head angle, α, less than neck angle, β; crevice corrosion can potentially occur in this design due to the corrosive fluid present at the interface.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Fretting and corrosion damage on the (a) bore of a CoCr femoral head and (b) Ti-alloy trunnion from a retrieved failed metal-on-polyethylene THR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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