Large diameter metal-on-metal hip replacements yield high failure rate, corrosion (OrthoSuperSite)
One recent investigation from U.K. researchers has found an “unacceptable” high rate of failure among large diameter, hybrid metal-on-metal hip replacements studied, according to results presented at the British Orthopaedic Association and Irish Orthopaedic Association Combined Meeting 2011 in Dublin.
According to study author Ben JRF Bolland, MBBS, MD, FRCS(Tr & Orth), the findings also noted evidence of high wear at the head and trunnion surface in retrieval components, as well as passive corrosion to the stem surface — raising concerns over the use of large heads on conventionally utilized 12/14 tapers.
The cumulative survival rate in the study was 92.4% for revision for any reason at 5 years.
“This is a clinical single-surgeon series of a large diameter, hybrid, metal-on-metal total hip replacement,” Bolland said. “We wanted to try and establish whether there were some predictors of failure in the workup of these patients which could help the surgeon make a choice. We also wanted to get a retrieval analysis, so we could determine the mechanism of failure.”
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