Yonsei Med J.  2004 Apr;45(2):293-299.

Wear of Retrieved UHMWPE Hip Liners

Affiliations
  • 1Sejong University, Bioengineering Research Center, Seoul, Korea. kwonlee@sejong.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
  • 3Southwest Research Institute, Mechanical and Material Engineering Divison, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
  • 4Department of Biomedical Engineering, Inje University, Kyongnam, Korea.
  • 5School of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Yeungnam University, Kyongbuk, Korea.

Abstract

After the gamma-irradiation sterilization, the most widely used orthopaedic grade polymer bearing liner material for the total joint replacement, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), degrades through the progressive in vivo oxidation. The oxidative degradation makes UHMWPE brittle and leads to reduction of its mechanical properties. In this study, the effect of the in vivo post-irradiation ageing time on the wear of UHMWPE was investigated. Twelve retrieved polyethylene hip liners implanted for 3-16 years and then stored in the air for 1.5-8 years were used. Two types of the pin-on-disk wear testing were conducted. The uni-directional repeat pass rotating and the linear reciprocating wear testing were done with stainless steel disks against stationary polyethylene pins under 4MPa at 1Hz with bovine serum lubrication. Wear of the retrieved polyethylene hip liners does not have significant correlation with the in vivo or total ageing time. The linear reciprocal sliding motion generated a more pronounced wear than the uni-directional repeat pass sliding motion. This indicates that the kinematic motion significantly affects the wear of aged UHMWPE, having a brittle, white band region.

Keyword

UHMWPE; wear; ageing; brittleness; kinematic motion; retrieved hip liner

MeSH Terms

Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip/*instrumentation
Biomechanics
Gamma Rays
Human
In Vitro
Materials Testing
Oxidation-Reduction
Polyethylenes/radiation effects/*standards
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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