title: Polyethylene wear in cemented metal-backed acetabular cups.
abstract: We examined radiographic polyethylene wear in 233 cemented total hip arthroplasties (201 patients) with either a metal-backed or a non-metal-backed acetabular cup. All patients had identical cemented one-piece titanium femoral stems with a femoral head diameter of 28 mm. The mean linear wear rate was 0.11 mm/yr in metal-backed sockets and 0.08 mm/yr in non-metal-backed sockets (p = 0.0002). The mean volumetric wear rate was 66.2 mm3/yr in the metal-backed sockets and 48.2 mm3/yr in the polyethylene sockets (p = 0.0002). The addition of metal backing to a cemented acetabular cup therefore resulted in a 37% increase in mean polyethylene wear rates which may partially explain the higher failure rate of cemented metal-backed cups. Linear regression analysis also implicated increased follow-up time (log), gross acetabular migration, metal backing and male gender in increasing polyethylene wear. We advocate the use of an all-polyethylene cup in cemented total hip arthroplasty. The increased polyethylene wear must also cause concern about the wear rate of uncemented metal-backed acetabular sockets.
authors.affiliation: Center for Hip and Knee Surgery, Mooresville, Indiana 46158.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Cates
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Faris
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Keating
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ritter
mesh_terms: D000077:Acetabulum / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003343:Corrosion; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D011095:Polyethylenes; D014025:Titanium