Logo image
Back
Short-Term Surface Damage Mechanisms of Retrieved Highly Cross-linked Polyethylene Patellar Components
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Short-Term Surface Damage Mechanisms of Retrieved Highly Cross-linked Polyethylene Patellar Components

Tabitha L. Derr, Daniel W. MacDonald, Gregg R. Klein, Michael A. Mont, Nicolas S. Piuzzi and Steven M. Kurtz
The Journal of arthroplasty
Nov 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2022.11.005
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

polyethylene retrieval studies revision reasons surface damage Total knee replacement
Previous retrieval studies of patellar components for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) focused on historical designs and polyethylene materials that are no longer clinically relevant. Therefore, this study aimed to compare revision reasons and surface damage mechanisms of conventional, gamma inert-sterilized polyethylene and highly crosslinked polyethylene (HXLPE) patellar components in contemporary designs from a single manufacturer. A total of 114 Gamma Inert and 76 HXLPE patellar components were gathered in a multicenter orthopaedic implant retrieval program. Patient age and body mass index were similar between cohorts (p=0.27, p=0.42); however, the Gamma Inert cohort was implanted longer (μdifference=3.1 years; p=0.005). A matched subset was created based on TKA design, patellar shape, and implantation time. Revision reasons were gathered from revision operating notes, and surface damage was examined via the Hood scoring method. Differences between HXLPE and Gamma Inert cohorts were evaluated using Mann-Whitney U-Tests. The most common revision reasons were infection, loosening, and instability with the most common patellar complication resulting in revision being patellar loosening for both cohorts with similar incidences for both (Chi-Square; p=0.60, p=0.59). The most common surface damages modes were burnishing, scratching, and pitting in both cohorts. Total wear was significantly higher in the Gamma Inert components (p=0.02), but not in the matched subset (p=0.46). Overall, the clinical performance of HXLPE was similar to conventional polyethylene for patellar components implanted less than 5 years. While this study provides much needed information on the performance of HXLPE patellae in short-term retrievals, long-term studies are still needed.

Metrics

12 Record Views
2 citations in Web of Science
1 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Orthopedics
Logo image