Whatever Happened to Squeaky Hips? (AAOS)
In recent years, squeaking hips have been reported in some patients with total hip arthroplasties using hard-on-hard bearing surfaces. So what exactly is the squeaking hip phenomenon? Javad Parvizi, MD, FRCS, provides the following insights:
Squeaking is purely a bearing surface–related problem, with no adverse effect on the remaining structures around the hip.
For the most part, squeaking hips occur with ceramic-on-ceramic bearing surfaces, although metal-on-metal bearings have been implicated in some cases. Specifically, audible squeaking is associated with earlier generations of ceramic bearings. Later generations of ceramic bearings have been introduced to address the issue, as well as to make the implant stronger and more fracture-resistant. To date, however, these newer design implants are available in the United States only on a limited basis.
The exact cause of squeaking is not clear, but it is likely multifactorial.
For example, femoral stems made from a particular type of titanium alloy have been associated with a much higher incidence of squeaking, compared to other femoral stems. The theory is that a softer metal with a narrower...
