Vitamin E-stabilized Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene Shows No Wear Over Time
In This Article
- Researchers at the Harris Orthopaedics Laboratory evaluated the wear and tear on vitamin E-stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene
- Charles Bragdon, PhD, discussed a seven-year study radiostereometric analysis to evaluate the new formulation's performance
- They discovered that unlike conventional polyethylene, which is minimally crosslinked and degrades about 0.1 millimeters per year, the new formulation has undetectable wear over time
- By revealing that polyethylene wear is not a function of time, the researchers also removed wear from being a factor of failure of total hip replacements
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Charles Bragdon, PhD, principal investigator and associate director of Clinical Studies in the Harris Orthopaedics Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke with Healio about the results of a seven-year study evaluating the wear and tear on the new vitamin E-stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene.
The Harris Orthopaedics Laboratory has created previous formations of polyethylene that have lasted for twenty years with excellent clinical results. Researchers evaluated the wear and tear on the new highly crosslinked polyethylene, which is stabilized with vitamin E to prevent it from oxidizing in vivo.
The purpose of the study, Dr. Bragdon explained, was to verify that its performance was comparable to other crosslinked polyethylenes that have come before it.
The researchers used radiostereometric analysis to evaluate the performance durability of this new formulation. Using sequential, specialized radiographs, radiostereometric analysis is a precise method of measuring small motions in vivo over time.
They found that unlike conventional polyethylene, which is minimally crosslinked and degrades about 0.1 millimeters per year, the new formulation and previous ones have undetectable wear over time.
The results of the study showed that wear is no longer a function of time, body weight or head size, and that wear was not a factor in the failure of total hip replacements.
There was no detectable evidence of wear for up to seven years of follow-up of the vitamin E-stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene during the study.
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