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Corrosion Damage in Retrieved CoCrMo/Ti-6Al-4V Modular Junctions in Femoral Revision Total Knee Components
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Corrosion Damage in Retrieved CoCrMo/Ti-6Al-4V Modular Junctions in Femoral Revision Total Knee Components

Hwaran Lee, Michael A Kurtz, Emma Barnes, Gregg R Klein, Steven M Kurtz and Jeremy L Gilbert
Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials, v 114(6), e70110
Jun 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.70110
PMID: 42267645
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.70110View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Alloys Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee Humans Knee Prosthesis Molybdenum Prosthesis Failure Titanium - chemistry Vitallium - chemistry Corrosion Materials Testing
Modularity in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is prevalent; however, corrosion mechanisms at modular junctions in these devices are not well investigated compared to total hip arthroplasty (THA). This retrieval study analyzed corrosion damage on modular junctions of cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy femoral components with a boss and titanium aluminum vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) stem components. It is hypothesized that similar corrosion modes would be found in TKA as in THA, including mechanically assisted and non-mechanically driven corrosion. The collected implants were examined using the Goldberg corrosion score, digital optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Corrosion modes were analyzed, including etching, pitting, intergranular (interphase) corrosion adjacent to carbides, and fretting scars with titanium transfer on CoCrMo. Ti-6Al-4V exhibited plastic deformation, mechanically assisted crevice corrosion (MACC), and titanium-chromium-molybdenum-rich oxides. These findings suggest that TKA junctions may experience corrosion processes similar to THA, warranting further clinical investigation.

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