MATERIALS FOR TOTAL HIP PROSTHESES

Materials used for manufacture and fixation of total hip prostheses are:

• Metals
• Polyethylene (HMWPE)
• Ceramics
• Bone cement

All these materials must posses strength and biocompatibility.

The material must be strong enough to withstand the forces and stresses imposed on it in the patient's body. Measurements demonstrated that stresses on artificial hips widely exceed the patient's body weight.

The material must be biocompatible, that means to be well tolerated by the tissues of the patient's body. All materials used with fabrication and fixation of total hip prostheses are well tolerated by the  body when applied in bulk.

The tolerance of the body's tissues, however, changes when the material is present in fine particle form, as dust. In the fine particle form, all materials used for fabrication and fixation of total hip prostheses may evoke inflammation reaction in the tissues. The inflammatory tissues may destruct skeleton around the prosthesis, process called osteolysis.

Thus, another demand on the materials used for fabrication and fixation of THP is that they do not wear off  too much and that they produce minimal quantity of wear particles.  

   For more technical information on individual materials and their characteristics visit the sections below

For more information on material combinations for bearing surfaces of total hip joint visit, please, the chapter Bearing surfaces of THP

Before you take any decision, please read carefully the Disclaimer

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