Wear of a Highly Cross-Linked Polyethylene Liner of the Acetabular Component Placed With Excessive Acetabular Inclination

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the influence of excessive acetabular inclination during total hip arthroplasty (THA) on the wear of highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE). The goal of this study was to determine whether excessive acetabular inclination during THA causes prominent wear of the HXLPE liner. We retrospectively evaluated 62 hips of 54 women and 8 men who underwent primary THA with an HXLPE liner between January 2006 and September 2011. Postoperative anteroposterior pelvic radiographs were used to measure acetabular inclination and analyze polyethylene wear. Patients were divided into the following groups: the excessive acetabular inclination group (acetabular inclination angle ≥50°; n=20) and the control group (acetabular inclination angle <50°; n=42). Clinical information and imaging findings were compared and examined between the 2 groups. Further, we evaluated the correlation between the acetabular inclination angle and the polyethylene wear rate. In all cases, mean follow-up duration was 6.3 years. The annual liner wear was 0.00446 and 0.0254 mm/y in the control and excessive acetabular inclination groups, respectively. The excessive acetabular inclination group had significantly higher polyethylene liner wear compared with the control group ( P =.00991). A weak correlation was seen between acetabular inclination angle and polyethylene wear rate in all cases (Spearman's rank correlation, r =0.283, P =.0258). Excessive acetabular inclination may increase HXLPE liner wear in the long term. [ Orthopedics . 2022;45(2):e96–e100.]