Overall , there was a notable enhancement of joint function after the procedure , with a satisfactory mid- and long-term survival of the ceramic components , which is comparable to that of the conventional alloy components reported previously .
However , revision due to aseptic loosening , wear , and component fracture appeared to be rare , demonstrating the safety of in vivo use of ceramic bearings in the TKA procedure .
Conclusions Ceramic TKA implants show similar post-operative clinical results and survival rate compared to their conventional metallic counterparts .
Our results confirmed the safety of in vivo use of ceramic bearings in TKA , with rare implant breakage and aseptic loosening .
Purpose Ceramic bearings have been widely used in total hip arthroplasty ( THA ) , which result ed in satisfactory clinical outcomes due to the excellent tribological characteristics of the implants .
However , ceramic components are not commonly used in total knee arthroplasty ( TKA ) because of brittleness .
This study aim ed to gather and analyze information regarding the clinical outcomes ( including survival without revision , causes of revision , functional outcome , and incidence of loosening ) and reach a definitive conclusion about the use of ceramic femoral components in total knee arthroplasty .
Five-year comparison of oxidized zirconium and cobalt-chromium femoral components in total knee arthroplasty: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND In vitro analysis has shown that oxidized zirconium on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene has better wear properties than cobalt-chromium on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene . The purpose of this study was to determine if oxidized zirconium femoral components performed better than cobalt-chromium in vivo and if the use of oxidized zirconium components had clinical adverse effects . METHODS Forty consecutive patients ( eighty knees ) underwent simultaneous bilateral cruciate-retaining total knee arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis from January 2002 to December 2003 . For each patient , the knees were r and omized to receive the oxidized zirconium femoral component , with the contralateral knee receiving the cobalt-chromium component . Outcome measures included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index , Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score , Knee Society score , and British Orthopaedic Association patient satisfaction scale . Radiographic outcomes include the Knee Society total knee arthroplasty roentgenographic evaluation and scoring system and measurement of radiographic wear . Patients and assessors were blinded to the treatment groups and results . RESULTS There were no significant differences in clinical , subjective , and radiographic outcomes between the two implants at five days , six weeks , and one , two , or five years postoperatively . At five years following surgery , 38 % of the patients preferred the cobalt-chromium knee compared with 18 % who preferred the oxidized zirconium knee ( p = 0.02 ) and 44 % had no preference . CONCLUSIONS Five-year outcomes after total knee arthroplasty with oxidized zirconium and cobalt-chromium femoral components showed no significant differences in clinical , subjective , and radiographic outcomes . Patients had no preference or preferred the cobalt-chromium prosthesis to the oxidized zirconium prosthesis at the time of the five-year follow-up . There were no adverse effects associated with the use of oxidized zirconium femoral implants
Overall , there was a notable enhancement of joint function after the procedure , with a satisfactory mid- and long-term survival of the ceramic components , which is comparable to that of the conventional alloy components reported previously .
However , revision due to aseptic loosening , wear , and component fracture appeared to be rare , demonstrating the safety of in vivo use of ceramic bearings in the TKA procedure .
Conclusions Ceramic TKA implants show similar post-operative clinical results and survival rate compared to their conventional metallic counterparts .
Our results confirmed the safety of in vivo use of ceramic bearings in TKA , with rare implant breakage and aseptic loosening .
Purpose Ceramic bearings have been widely used in total hip arthroplasty ( THA ) , which result ed in satisfactory clinical outcomes due to the excellent tribological characteristics of the implants .
However , ceramic components are not commonly used in total knee arthroplasty ( TKA ) because of brittleness .
This study aim ed to gather and analyze information regarding the clinical outcomes ( including survival without revision , causes of revision , functional outcome , and incidence of loosening ) and reach a definitive conclusion about the use of ceramic femoral components in total knee arthroplasty .