Conclusions Current published evidence does not support survivorship differences among commonly used bearing surfaces in patients younger than age 65 years undergoing THA at short- to mid-term followup .
Background  Total hip arthroplasty ( THA )  is increasingly being performed in patients with long life expectancies and active lifestyles .
Newer implant bearing surfaces , with superior wear characteristics , often are used in this cohort with the goal of improving longevity of the prosthesis , but comparisons across the numerous available bearing surfaces are limited , so the surgeon and patient may have difficulty deciding which implants to use .
Questions / purpose sThe purpose of this study was to answer the following question : Is there a short- to mid-term survivorship difference between common THA bearings used in patients younger than age 65 years ?
A double-blind, prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing highly cross-linked and conventional polyethylene in primary total hip arthroplasty.
Highly cross-linked polyethylene was developed to reduce articular bearing wear in total hip arthroplasty . In vitro studies have shown reduced wear in comparison with conventional polyethylene . A double-blind , prospect i ve , r and omized trial was performed comparing highly cross-linked and conventional polyethylene  in 119 patients . The primary outcome variables were linear , 3-dimensional , and volumetric wear as determined by analysis of digitized radiographs using vali date d wear measurement software . Linear , 3-dimensional , and volumetric wear rates were significantly less in the highly cross-linked polyethylene group between 6 months and 4 years postoperatively ( P < .05 ) . The data presented here show that highly cross-linked polyethylene reduces short-term polyethylene wear . The intermediate and long-term clinical results of highly cross-linked polyethylene remain unknown pending further follow-up
Conclusions Current published evidence does not support survivorship differences among commonly used bearing surfaces in patients younger than age 65 years undergoing THA at short- to mid-term followup .
Background  Total hip arthroplasty ( THA )  is increasingly being performed in patients with long life expectancies and active lifestyles .
Newer implant bearing surfaces , with superior wear characteristics , often are used in this cohort with the goal of improving longevity of the prosthesis , but comparisons across the numerous available bearing surfaces are limited , so the surgeon and patient may have difficulty deciding which implants to use .
Questions / purpose sThe purpose of this study was to answer the following question : Is there a short- to mid-term survivorship difference between common THA bearings used in patients younger than age 65 years ?