Extract
The most common cause of long-term failure of a total hip arthroplasty is
aseptic loosening1.
Wear debris, in particular polyethylene debris, is primarily responsible for
the biological reaction that leads to bone resorption and loosening of the
implants2-5.
This, combined with the improvement in the toughness of alumina, has evoked a
resurgence in the use of alumina-on-alumina bearing surfaces, where less
friction and wear
occur6. Contemporary
alumina-on-alumina total hip systems incorporate a surface-treated
metal-backed alumina socket to overcome the high rate of cup loosening
associated with the original component designs without metal backing. Both the
short-term and the medium-term results associated with these systems are
encouraging7,8.