SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1983
STP28940S

Wear of Ti-6A1-4V Implant Alloy and Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene Combinations

Source

In view of published comments that the wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy bearing against ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was not adequate for total joint replacements, the literature was reviewed and compared with ongoing hip simulator studies. Two types of laboratory tests were contrasted: those run under “clean” conditions and those run with intentional contamination by acrylic cement particles. Wear-screening devices as well as hip simulators were involved in both types of studies, and both produced a dichotomy of viewpoints on the suitability of the Ti-6Al-4V/UHMWPE combination. However, the two most recent studies with hip simulators indicated that the Ti-6Al-4V-UHMWPE combination performed acceptably well. The published data from a major series of Ti-6Al-4V hip replacements have established excellent clinical and radiographic results. In seven surgical revisitations, the Ti-6Al-4V/UHMWPE combinations showed no sign of adverse wear phenomena. Thus, the clinical observations are supportive of the results of the two most recent hip simulator studies. It may well be that the laboratory models produced a variety of severe test conditions that compromised the performance of the Ti-6Al-4V and resulted in contradictory data. The hip simulator studies are being continued to establish the limits of the laboratory models and their validity with respect to the clinical situation.

Author Information

Clarke, IC
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
McKellop, HA
Biomechanics Laboratory, Orthopaedic Hospital, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
McGuire, P
Biomechanics Laboratory, Orthopaedic Hospital, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
Okuda, R
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
Sarmiento, A
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
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Details
Developed by Committee: B10
Pages: 136–147
DOI: 10.1520/STP28940S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4862-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0241-5