CERAMIC BEARING SURFACES IN TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY: IS IT A SAFE OPTION FOR THE YOUNGER PATIENT?
A. Alturki; Gwendolyn Dobbin; R.K. Leighton; M.C. McCaffrey; and Kelly Trask Halifax, NS The ideal bearing surface for total hip arthroplasty is still an area of debate.Increasing numbers of total hip replacements are being done in the younger patient population.Ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have gained popularity due to their low wear rate.However, ceramic fractures with subsequent catastrophic failures have been reported. This study reports on early results of ceramic-on-ceramic total hip replacements. This is a study analyzing a prospectively collected data for seventy-five ceramic-on-ceramic total hip replacements with minimum follow up of eighteen months. Average age at time of surgery was forty-seven years. This study focused on the complications of this ceramic population. Complications included: One posterior dislocation, two intra-operative calcar fractures that needed wiring, one intra-operative fracture of the acetabular liner, two cases of impingement (one which resulted in a