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 .
Clinical results of posterior cruciate ligament retaining TKA with alumina ceramic condylar prosthesis: comparison to Co–Cr alloy prosthesis
In a prospect i ve study , 194 knees undergoing total knee arthroplasty ( 110 knees with alumina ceramic prostheses ; 84 knees with Co – Cr alloy prostheses )  were clinical ly and radiologically evaluated . Average follow-up period was 66 months ( 36–124 months ) . Average age at the time of surgery was 66 years . In the ceramic prostheses , two revision surgeries were performed because of breakage of the tibial tray and late infection , whereas two revisions of the Co – Cr alloy prostheses were carried out due to loosening and late infection . In the other patients , there were no significant differences in clinical parameters ( HSS knee score and range of motion ) between the two prostheses . In radiological evaluation , we could not find any radiolucent lines around the femoral ceramic component while radiolucency was present in three knees ( 3.6 % ) around the Co – Cr femoral component . Beneath the tibial tray , three knees ( 2.7 % ) showed a radiolucent line around the former prosthesis while eight knees ( 9.5 % ) demonstrated a radiolucent line around the latter prosthesis . Chi-square tests showed a significant difference in the occurrence of radiolucent line around both of the femoral and tibial prosthesis . This study demonstrated that clinical results of the alumina ceramic PCL retaining total knee prosthesis are comparable to the st and ard Co – Cr alloy PCL retaining total knee prosthesis . Although we could not draw any conclusions regarding the superiority of the ceramic prosthesis with respect to UHMWPE wear and long-term survivorship , this report encouraged a long-term follow-up study on ceramic prostheses
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 .