Disassembly of a modular femoral component after femoral head prosthetic replacement

Stand up! Are normal weight-bearing forces sufficient for a 12/14 Morse taper locking in total hip arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate total hip arthroplasty (THA) Morse taper pull-off strengths after impaction prior to cyclical loading compared to cyclical loading alone. The practical relevance of the experiment is to provide a perspective on what may be clinically satisfactory taper assembly given the spectrum of head tapping patterns used by surgeons, as well as compare traditional impaction performed in standard THA with alternate methods of taper engagement such as 'in situ assembly' used in micro-invasive techniques.

METHODS

36 taper constructs utilising a combination of cobalt-chrome alloy and ceramic-titanium alloy junctions were investigated in vitro in wet and dry conditions with cyclical loading of the constructs. Taper disengagement strengths with and without impaction were compared. Secondary investigation of the surface roughness of the heads and tapers was also assessed.

RESULTS

An impaction to a wet taper resulted in a greater pull off force compared to a dry taper with a CoCr head and taper combination. Impacting the head and dryness of the taper did not affect pull off forces of a ceramic femoral head on titanium taper. Pulling a head off a taper significantly alters the head surface roughness.

CONCLUSION

Impaction of a taper does not provide any benefit over cyclical loading of a taper assembly alone for pull-off strength.

Review: Trunnionosis leading to modular femoral head dissociation

Component dissociation secondary to trunnionosis is rare, and its causes are multifactorial. It is a major complication of total hip replacement, in most cases requiring revision arthroplasty. In this paper, we present a case of taper/head modular interface dissociation in a metal-on-metal total hip replacement. We review the literature of both trunnionosis, as well as a systematic review of modular dissociation of the femoral component in total hip arthroplasty, identifying commonalities with our own case.

Impending spontaneous head neck dissociation caused by anteverted cup: A case report on reverse bottle opener effect and review of literature

Modularity in total hip arthroplasty (THA) not only allows adjustments of leg length and offset but also simplifies the revision. It allows limited revision of various components and decreases surgical morbidity of complete revision. Despite benefits, modularity is associated with risks like corrosion and component dissociation. Dissociation between head and neck taper is rare and the cause is attributed to taper corrosion, revision, stem subsidence, pumping phenomenon, injury and closed reduction of dislocated THA. We report a case of late-onset impending head-neck dissociation in a THA caused by a well-fixed anteverted cup with polyethylene liner wear by "reverse bottle opener effect." To our knowledge, this is the most late-onset reported case of head-neck dissociation, occurring after 13yrs of index surgery.

Late Onset Disassembly of a Modular Neck-stem Component after Cementless Hip Replacement without Dislocation: A Case Report and Review of Literatures

Modular femoral prostheses are characterized by a second neck-stem junction. This modularity provides many clinical benefits including hip offset restoration, intraoperative leg length and anteversion adjustment. Although, this extra junction in modular femoral prostheses can contribute to catastrophic consequences like fracture, cold welding, corrosion and fretting of the modularity. However, only few complications related to the modularity itself have been reported in the literature. We report a unique case of neck-stem component dissociation without dislocation of the R-120PC™ Modular Stem (DJO Surgical). Our 71-year-old obese female patient underwent cementless hip replacement 5 years ago. Following radiographic confirmation of neck-stem dissociation open reduction was performed and wiring fixation was applied to secure the neck to the stem. After reduction and fixation, hip joint was stable, and our patient returned to her daily routine 2.5 months postoperatively. The last follow up was at 12 months after surgery with excellent radiographic and clinical evaluation.

Disassembly of the inner head of a bipolar hip prosthesis

We report an extremely rare case of inner head displacement from the stem of a bipolar hip prosthesis (BHP). An 88-year-old woman underwent BHP implantation for right femoral neck fracture. However, severe right hip joint pain occurred 12 days after surgery. A plain radiogram film revealed displacement of the inner head from the neck of the stem, accompanied by sinking of the stem. At reoperation, the inner head was disassembled from the stem, and Vancouver type A1 fracture was confirmed. Disassembly may have been caused by the pumping phenomenon or micromovement of the stem due to periprosthetic fracture. To our knowledge, this is the first report about disassembly of the BHP inner head, probably due to periprosthetic fracture.

The Influence of Contamination and Cleaning on the Strength of Modular Head Taper Fixation in Total Hip Arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

Intraoperative interface contamination of modular head-stem taper junctions of hip implants can lead to poor fixation strength, causing fretting and crevice corrosion or even stem taper fracture. Careful cleaning before assembly should help to reduce these problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cleaning (with and without drying) contaminated taper interfaces on the taper fixation strength.

METHODS

Metal or ceramic heads were impacted onto titanium alloy stem tapers with cleaned or contaminated (fat or saline solution) interfaces. The same procedure was performed after cleaning and drying the contaminated interfaces. Pull-off force was used to determine the influence of contamination and cleaning on the taper strength.

RESULTS

Pull-off forces after contamination with fat were significantly lower than those for uncontaminated interfaces for both head materials. Pull-off forces after application of saline solution were not significantly different from those for uncontaminated tapers. However, a large variation in taper strength was observed, pull-off forces for cleaned and dried tapers were similar to those for uncontaminated tapers for both head materials.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative contamination of taper interfaces may be difficult to detect but has a major influence on taper fixation strength. Cleaning of the stem taper with saline solution and drying with gauze directly before assembly allows the taper strength of the pristine components to be achieved. Not drying the taper results in a large variation in pull-off forces, emphasizing that drying is essential for sufficient and reproducible fixation strength.

Spontaneous Dissociation of Anatomic Medullary Locking A Plus (AML A Plus) Femoral Component at the Head-Neck Interface

Introduction:

Innovations in the design of total hip arthroplasty components have been developed to address certain limitations with the use of standard monoblock prosthesis. With increasing use and long-term follow up, certain complications particularly related to fretting, corrosion and fatigue have been recognized.

Case Report:

A 31 year old active male patient presented with spontaneous dissociation of the Anatomic Medullary Locking A Plus (AML A Plus) Femoral Component at head and neck interface 10 years after surgery. At revision surgery, wear of the acetabular liner and head and neck taper was noted. Definitive treatment required complete revision of the femoral component and change of acetabular liner.

Conclusion:

While modularity allows change of worn out components, this case highlights the importance of various factors in avoiding this complication and the need for surgeon to be prepared to use ‘taper sleeves’ or revise the components if taper exchange fails particularly in cases with dissociation of head-neck interface which is usually associated with taper damage.

Spontaneous dissociation of bipolar hip hemiarthroplasty in a patient with nerve palsy: A case report and review of the literature

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Acute disassembly of a bipolar hemiarthroplasty at the femoral head and stem-neck taper junction is rare.

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Dissociation of bipolar hemiarthroplasty is a complex complication that requires operative treatment.

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The mechanism and cause of dissociation should be identified before the operation.

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The authors suggest that to prevent this condition, preoperative planning and proper techniques should be done as an index procedure.

Introduction

Dislocation after bipolar hemiarthroplasty is a common complication but dissociation of the prosthesis is rare. There are some reports of bipolar hemiarthroplasty dissociation at the inner head and outer shell. However, there are limited reports on acute spontaneous dissociation of the head and neck at the taper interface in bipolar hemiarthroplasty.

Presentation of case

A 65-year-old female had cemented bipolar hemi hip replacement after fixation failure of a dynamic hip screw. She had left lower limb weakness for ten years after previous spinal surgery. At the sixth week of postoperation, the patient had dissociation of the components of the bipolar hemiarthroplasty at the femoral head and neck junction. The patient had open reduction and femoral head revision. There was no re-dislocation at one-year follow-up.

Discussion

Dissociation of bipolar hemiarthroplasty is a complex complication that can happen from the modularity of the implant. This condition requires operative treatment. The mechanism and cause of failure should be identified before the operation.

Conclusion

To prevent this condition, preoperative planning and proper techniques should be done as an index procedure. In the case of marked shortening of the limb after an operation in patients with lower limb muscle weakness, we hypothesize that early full weight bearing with immediate use of a shoe lift might help prevent this condition.

Late Nontraumatic Dissociation of the Femoral Head and Trunnion in a Total Hip Arthroplasty

Background. Modular total hip arthroplasties are increasingly popular because customisation allows optimal restoration of patient biomechanics. However, the introduction of component interfaces provides greater opportunities for failure. We present a case of late nontraumatic dissociation of the head-neck interface, more than 10 years after insertion. Case Description. A 58-year-old woman had a left metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty in 2002 for hip dysplasia. Following an uneventful 10-year period, she presented to hospital in severe pain after standing from a seated position, and radiographs demonstrated complete dissociation of the modular femoral head from the stem, with the femoral head remaining in its cup. There was no prior trauma or infection. Mild wear and metallosis were present on the articulating surface between the femoral head and trunnion. Soft tissues were unaffected. Discussion and Conclusions. This is the latest occurrence reported to date for nontraumatic component failure in such an implant by more than 7 years. The majority of cases occur in the context of dislocation and attempted closed reduction. We analyse and discuss possible mechanisms for failure, aiming to raise awareness of this potential complication and encouraging utmost care in component handling and insertion, as well as the long term follow-up of such patients.

How have alternative bearings and modularity affected revision rates in total hip arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) continues to be one of the most successful surgical procedures in the medical field. However, over the last two decades, the use of modularity and alternative bearings in THA has become routine. Given the known problems associated with hard-on-hard bearing couples, including taper failures with more modular stem designs, local and systemic effects from metal-on-metal bearings, and fractures with ceramic-on-ceramic bearings, it is not known whether in aggregate the survivorship of these implants is better or worse than the metal-on-polyethylene bearings that they sought to replace.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

Have alternative bearings (metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic) and implant modularity decreased revision rates of primary THAs?

METHODS

In this systematic review of MEDLINE and EMBASE, we used several Boolean search strings for each topic and surveyed national registry data from English-speaking countries. Clinical research (Level IV or higher) with ≥ 5 years of followup was included; retrieval studies and case reports were excluded. We included registry data at ≥ 7 years followup. A total of 32 studies (and five registry reports) on metal-on-metal, 19 studies (and five registry reports) on ceramic-on-ceramic, and 20 studies (and one registry report) on modular stem designs met inclusion criteria and were evaluated in detail. Insufficient data were available on metal-on-ceramic and ceramic-on-metal implants, and monoblock acetabular designs were evaluated in another recent systematic review so these were not evaluated here.

RESULTS

There was no evidence in the literature that alternative bearings (either metal-on-metal or ceramic-on-ceramic) in THA have decreased revision rates. Registry data, however, showed that large head metal-on-metal implants have lower 7- to 10-year survivorship than do standard bearings. In THA, modular exchangeable femoral neck implants had a lower 10-year survival rate in both literature reviews and in registry data compared with combined registry primary THA implant survivorship.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite improvements in implant technology, there is no evidence that alternative bearings or modularity have resulted in decreased THA revision rates after 5 years. In fact, both large head metal-on-metal THA and added modularity may well lower survivorship and should only be used in select cases in which the mission cannot be achieved without it. Based on this experience, followup and/or postmarket surveillance studies should have a duration of at least 5 years before introducing new alternative bearings or modularity on a widespread scale.