title: If hip implant retrievals could speak, what would they tell us?
abstract: Hip implant retrieval analysis is the most important   source of insight into the performance of new materials and designs   of hip arthroplasties. Even the most rigorous in vitro testing will   not accurately simulate the behavior of implant materials and new   designs of prosthetic arthroplasties. Retrieval analysis has revealed   such factors as the effects of gamma-in-air sterilisation of polyethylene,   fatigue failure mechanisms of polymethylmethacrylate bone cement,   fretting corrosion of Morse taper junctions, third body wear effects   of both hard-on-hard and hard-on-soft bearing couples, and the effects   of impingement of components on the full spectrum of bearing surfaces,   none of which was predicted by pre-implantation in vitro testing   of these materials and combinations. The temporal sequence of the   retrieval process is approximately six years from first implantation   through retrieval analysis, laboratory investigation, and publication   of results, and thus, in addition to rigorous clinical evaluation,   represents the true development and insight cycle for new designs   and materials.
authors.affiliation: Alabama Medical Consultants, 100 Club Drive, Suite 164, Burnsville, North Carolina 28714, USA. jcucklermd@gmail.com
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cuckler
mesh_terms: D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020878:Device Removal; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D011475:Prosthesis Failure / Q000209:etiology*