Why will a total hip replacement ultimately fail?
In order to clarify the reason for the failures of the hip replacements discussed above, a retrieval analysis of the worn plastic inserts removed at surgery was undertaken. Dr. McGrory of the Maine Joint Replacement Center, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital researchers Orhun Muratoglu, Lamia Mounib, Charles R. Bragdon, Murali Jasty, and William H. Harris carefully examined the metal backed acetabular liners retrieved at revision surgery. The components were analyzed under reflected light for cracks in the plastic, and 75 % of the specimens were microtomed parallel to the surface of the extended lip of the liner. A total of 20-30 serial sections of 80 um thickness were collected, and a portion of each liner was selected for oxidation analysis. In a poster presentation at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Society for Biomaterials in San Diego, California, the authors showed their results in an abstract entitled ” Anisotropic Oxidation and Radial Cracks in Retrieved Acetabul