Analysis of corrosion in stainless steel total hip prostheses

Author

Musolino, M.C. ; Pettit, F.S. ; Burleigh, T.D. ; Rubash, H.E. ; Shanbhag, A.S.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Orthopaedic Surg., Pittsburgh Univ., PA, USA

fYear

1996

fDate

29-31 Mar 1996

Firstpage

5

Lastpage

6

Abstract

Extensive corrosion was observed in a series of twenty stainless steel (SS) femoral hip prostheses (T-28 design, Zimmer Inc.), retrieved between 8 and 20 years after implantation (avg 14 y.) because of aseptic loosening and stem fracture. Corrosion appeared exclusively inferior to the stem collar, and covered, on average, 16% of the stem surface. The corrosion product was compositionally heterogeneous, and contained Fe, Ni, and Cr, as well as nonmetallic elements such as Ca, K, and Cl. The location and morphology of the corrosive damage are indicative of fretting and crevice corrosion. Despite the severity of the observed corrosive damage, each of these stems experienced a long service life

Keywords

bone; corrosion; prosthetics; stainless steel; 8 to 20 y; Ca; Cl; Cr; Fe; K; Ni; T-28 design; Zimmer Inc.; aseptic loosening; compositionally heterogeneous corrosion product; crevice corrosion; femoral hip prostheses; fretting; stainless steel total hip prostheses; stem collar; stem fracture; Corrosion; Hip; Implants; Iron; Orthopedic surgery; Prosthetics; Scanning electron microscopy; Steel; Surface cracks; Surface morphology;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Biomedical Engineering Conference, 1996., Proceedings of the 1996 Fifteenth Southern

Conference_Location

Dayton, OH

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3131-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SBEC.1996.493099

Filename

493099