A study of the mechanical and biological behavior of bioceramic hip arthroplasty followed-up after more than 10 years.

The authors report the results obtained in three experiments conducted on hip arthroplasty with ceramic-ceramic coupling and the evaluation of clinical follow-ups carried out on cemented bioceramic arthroplasty more than 10 years after surgery. A first test consisted in the "in vivo" study of alumina powder injected in the joints of four pigs with the purpose of verifying the biocompatibility of the compound. A second test involved the experimental evaluation of "in vitro" wear of the alumina as compared to other types of coupling, and confirmed the very low tendency of wear in alumina. A third spectroscopic study conducted using a Raman laser demonstrated the absolute biostability of the surface of bioceramic material. A retrospective clinical study was conducted in order to verify laboratory data in 83 cemented bioceramic arthroplasties followed-up more than 10 years after surgery and of which 92% obtained good clinical results.