Does Acetabular Inclination Angle Affect Survivorship of Alumina-ceramic Articulations?
GROUND: Reports in the literature have linked high acetabular inclination angles to increased wear of ceramic-on-ceramic bearings. However, many of these studies were only conducted in vitro and did not address the clinical relevance of such findings. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We therefore determined: (1) whether the cup inclination angle influences survival or function in patients with ceramic-on-ceramic implants; (2) the incidence of radiolucencies, osteolysis, and subsidence of ceramic-on-ceramic implants; and (3) whether the survival rate higher for ceramic-on-ceramic THAs than for conventional metal-on-polyethylene THAs. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 537 THAs performed in 512 prospectively followed patients having THA between October 1996 and October 2000. Eleven patients (12 hips) were lost to followup before 2 years, leaving 501 patients (525 THAs); of these, 421 were alumina ceramic-on-ceramic articulations and 104 cobalt-chromium-on-polyethylene. The mean age was 54 years. We
