Open AccessLarge-diameter total hip arthroplasty modular heads require greater assembly forces for initial stability
Author(s) -
Alisdair MacLeod,
Niall Sullivan,
Michael R Whitehouse,
H. S. Gill
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
bone and joint research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.639
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 2046-3758
DOI - 10.1302/2046-3758.58.bjr-2016-0044.r1
Subject(s) - total hip arthroplasty , head (geology) , femoral head , hip resurfacing , hip arthroplasty , connection (principal bundle) , orthodontics , modular design , finite element method , arthroplasty , mathematics , initial stability , structural engineering , materials science , surgery , engineering , implant , geometry , medicine , computer science , geology , geomorphology , operating system
Modular junctions are ubiquitous in contemporary hip arthroplasty. The head-trunnion junction is implicated in the failure of large diameter metal-on-metal (MoM) hips which are the currently the topic of one the largest legal actions in the history of orthopaedics (estimated costs are stated to exceed $4 billion). Several factors are known to influence the strength of these press-fit modular connections. However, the influence of different head sizes has not previously been investigated. The aim of the study was to establish whether the choice of head size influences the initial strength of the trunnion-head connection.