ASEPTIC LOOSENING
OF
THA
PRESENTER: DR.IMRAN ALI
A good prosthesis is important
 Although success rates for total hip
arthroplasty (THA) now approach 97%,
osteolysis and aseptic loosening continue to
plague surgeons.
 Reported prosthetic failure rates due to these
complications are as high as 20%.1
1Sinha RK, Shanbhag AS, Maloney WJ, Hasselman CT, Rubash HE.
Osteolysis: Cause and Effect, Instructional Course Lectures, Volume
47. Rosemont, Ill: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Press;
1998: 307-320.
 When cemented femoral components were the
predominant types of prostheses used, as
many as 12% of patients demonstrated
symptomatic loosening, and as many as 20%
required revision surgery.[2]
 2 Aseptic loosening in THA. In: American Academy of Orthopaedic
Surgeons. Adult Reconstruction Orthopaedic Knowledge Update.
Rosemont, Ill: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Press;
1996: 147-156.
Osteolysis
 is the end result of a biologic process that
begins when the number of wear particles
generated in the joint space overwhelms the
capsule's capacity to clear them.
Osteolysis
 Steps in osteolysis:
 particulate debris formation
 Access of these particles to periprosthetic bone
 macrophage activated osteolysis
 prosthesis micromotion
 particulate debris dissemination
osteoclast osteoblast interaction
cytokines/
chemokine
s
MACROPHAGESDEBRIS
phagocytosis
inhibit
Sources of particulate debris
1. Wear
 Mechanisms of wear
 A. Adhesion:
 microscopically PE sticks to prosthesis and debris gets pulled off
 B. Abrasion:
 C. Third body wear particles in joint space cause
abrasion and wear
 D. Micro Fatigue
2. Corrosion: electrochemical reaction
wear rates by material
 Non-cross linked UHMWPE
 wear rate is 0.1-0.2 mm/yr
 Ceramic bearings
 lowest wear rates of any bearing combination
 (0.5 to 2.5 µ per component per year)
 Ceramic-on-polyethylene,
 ranging from 0 to 150 µ.
 Metal-on-metal produces smaller wear
particles as well as lower wear rates
 (ranging from 2.5 to 5.0 µ per year)
Modes of wear
 1. Motion between 2 surfaces designed for
motion
 2. Primary bearing surface against an non
intended bearing surface
 i.e. femoral head against acetabular shell when liner has
worn out
 3. Interposed third body particles i.e. bone or
cement
 4. Two non bearing surfaces together i.e. back
sided fretting, morse taper fretting, screws
Loosening of THA
components
 With Cemented THAs, the acetabulum is the first
component to fail from loosening.
 With cementless hips, the femoral component
loosens more often as a result of osteolysis.
 Loosening occurs at implant-cement interface in
femoral component, while at bone-cement interface
in acetabulum.
Zones of loosening
 Femoral component
Seven Gruen zones
 Acetabular component
Three Delee and Charnley
zones
Gruen 7 zones
of femur
•Zone 1
•Debonding
•Zone 4
•Subsidence
•Zone 7
•Fragmentation of
cement
Barrack grading
Delee and
Charnley
acetabular
zones
Harris grading
Cemented Femoral loosening;
Radiographic
 Definite loosening
 Stem failure – fracture/deformation
 Cement mantle fracture esp zone 4
 Radiolucency >1mm
 Changes in stem position- usually varus position
 Pistoning effect
 Probable loosening
 Continous radioluscent line at bone-cement interface
 Endosteal cavitation-linear and focal osteolysis
 Possible loosening
 Radioluscent lines at bone-cement interface 50-100%
Harris grading
 1. Possible
 Bone-cement
lucency < 50% total
 may be due to poor
cementing technique
Harris grading
 2. Probable
 Cement-implant
radiolucent line
>2mm wide
 - progressive
 3. Definite
 Cement fracture(zone 4)
 Femoral stem fracture
 Radiolucency >2 mm
 Greun zone 1> debonding
 New lucency cement -
implant interface
 Stem migration,/ varus
 Pistoning effect
Mechanism of stem failure
A. Subsidence/Pistoning
 1-2 mm normal in first year
 > 5 mm abnormal
 Quantified by measuring distance against a
fixed landmark e.g tip of greater troch, tear
drop
Subsidence
Mechanism of stem failure
 B. Medial midstem
pivot
 Medial migration of the
proximal stem in
association with lateral
displacement of the
distal stem tip
Mechanism of stem failure
 Calcar pivot
 Either medial or
lateral movement of
the distal tip of the
embedded stem
with reasonable
support proximally
Mechanism of stem failure
 Distal pivot/bending
cantilever
 - distal fix strong, but
proximally loose
 - breakdown of
proximal cement
Are all radioluscent line due to
loosening?
 Radiolucent lines btn femoral cortex and cement
 Cancellous bone not completely removed during sx
 Normal age related expansion of femoral canal assoc
cortical thinning.1
 Medullary canal expands at 0.33mm/yr
 Cortical thickness decrease by 0.15mm/yr
 No surrounding sclerotic line
 1. Poss et al study
Technical problems that
contribute to stem loosening
 Failure to remove adequate cancellous bone
medially
 Inadequate quantity of cement
 Thin column cracks easily
 Tip of stem should be supported by a plug of cement
 Presence of voids in cement
 Poor mixing, injecting, pressurizing technique,
 Blood, bone fragments ion cement( laminations)
 Failure to prevent stem motion while cement is
hardening
 Failure to position component in neutral or mildly
valgus position
Cementless
femoral
components
Engh classification
Types based on presence of radiolucent lines (RLL)
 I. Stable bony ingrowth
 Take one year to see
 A. Spot welds at end of porous coating
 B. Absence of RLL next to porous coating
 - may have RLL next to non porous coated areas
 C. Calcar atrophy secondary to stress
shielding
Stable bony ingrowth
Spot welds Stress shielding
Stable fibrous ingrowth
 A. No spot welds
 B. Parallel
sclerotic lines /
 RLL about porous
coating
 C. No migration

Unstable fibrous ingrowth
 A. Component migration
 B. Progressive increase
RLL
 - divergent RLL
 C. Pedestal formation
(bony hypertrophy at tip)
Cemented Acetabular loosening;
radiographic features
 Bone-cement lucency >2mm and/or progressive
 Medial migration and protrusion of cement and cup
 Change in inclination of cup >50
 Eccentric PE wear of the cup
 Fracture of cup and/or cement(rare)
Technical problems during sx
leading to cup loosening
 Inadequate support of the cup by bone & cement
 Insufficient bone stock
 Acetabullum not reamed deeply enough
 Failure to remove all cartilage, loose bone fragments, fibous
tissue and blood
 Failure to make sufficient no of holes in acetabulum to secure
good cement-bone bon
 Failure to pressurize cement, distribute cement
 Movementt of cup or cement mantle while cement is hardening
 Malpositioning of cup
Uncemented Acetabular Component
 Concepts
 Bone ingrowth into component averages only
12%
 - even with 84% bone contact
 Non continuous radiolucent lines
 commonly found in press fit acetabular
components
 are often not progressive
Radiographic signs of ingrowth
fixation

 Moore et al CORR 2006
 - 3 or more 97% stable
 - 2 or less, 83% unstable
Radiographic signs of ingrowth
fixation
Five signs
 - absence of
radiolucent lines
 - presence of a
superolateral
buttress
 inferomedial
buttress
 - medial bone
stress-shielding
Radiographic signs of
loosening
 5 signs
 - radiolucent lines that
appear after two years
 - progression of radiolucent
lines after two years
 - radiolucent lines in all
three zones
 - radiolucent lines 2 mm or
wider in any zone
 - migration > 2mm
Engh Classification
I. Stable bony
ingrowth
 A No RLL
 B One RLL zone
1/2
 C RLL zones 1 & 2
 II Stable fibrous
ingrowth
 - <2mm zone 3

III Unstable fibrous
ingrowth
 - >2mm RLL in zone
3
Diagnosis
 History
 Pain on wt bearing –groin, buttock or thigh
 Typically ‘start-up’ pain
 Pain relieved by rest, aggravated by hip rotation
 Physical exam
 Antalgic gait
 Limb length discrepancy
 Investigations
 Laboratory
 R/O infection
 Imaging
 Progressive radiolucency
 Migration of implant
Treatment
 Asymptomatic patient
Radiographic loosening often appears
be4 symptoms
More frequent follow-up
Revision surgery if bone destruction is
progressive
 Symptomatic patient
Revision surgery
Indications for surgery
 Symptomatic patient
 Loose implants
 Large lytic lesions
 Progressive osteolysis even if no
symptoms
Revision Total Hip
Arthroplasty
 cementless components are generally
preferred in revision settings.
 The bone sclerotic and does not provide
optimal conditions for cement interdigitation
 only the loose components need to be
revised
 If implant remains stable despite
osteolysis, bone grafting of the defects
with retention of the implant is
recommended

Aseptic loosening total hip arthroplasty

  • 1.
  • 2.
    A good prosthesisis important
  • 4.
     Although successrates for total hip arthroplasty (THA) now approach 97%, osteolysis and aseptic loosening continue to plague surgeons.  Reported prosthetic failure rates due to these complications are as high as 20%.1 1Sinha RK, Shanbhag AS, Maloney WJ, Hasselman CT, Rubash HE. Osteolysis: Cause and Effect, Instructional Course Lectures, Volume 47. Rosemont, Ill: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Press; 1998: 307-320.
  • 5.
     When cementedfemoral components were the predominant types of prostheses used, as many as 12% of patients demonstrated symptomatic loosening, and as many as 20% required revision surgery.[2]  2 Aseptic loosening in THA. In: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Adult Reconstruction Orthopaedic Knowledge Update. Rosemont, Ill: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Press; 1996: 147-156.
  • 6.
    Osteolysis  is theend result of a biologic process that begins when the number of wear particles generated in the joint space overwhelms the capsule's capacity to clear them.
  • 7.
    Osteolysis  Steps inosteolysis:  particulate debris formation  Access of these particles to periprosthetic bone  macrophage activated osteolysis  prosthesis micromotion  particulate debris dissemination
  • 8.
  • 9.
    Sources of particulatedebris 1. Wear  Mechanisms of wear  A. Adhesion:  microscopically PE sticks to prosthesis and debris gets pulled off  B. Abrasion:  C. Third body wear particles in joint space cause abrasion and wear  D. Micro Fatigue 2. Corrosion: electrochemical reaction
  • 10.
    wear rates bymaterial  Non-cross linked UHMWPE  wear rate is 0.1-0.2 mm/yr  Ceramic bearings  lowest wear rates of any bearing combination  (0.5 to 2.5 µ per component per year)  Ceramic-on-polyethylene,  ranging from 0 to 150 µ.  Metal-on-metal produces smaller wear particles as well as lower wear rates  (ranging from 2.5 to 5.0 µ per year)
  • 12.
    Modes of wear 1. Motion between 2 surfaces designed for motion  2. Primary bearing surface against an non intended bearing surface  i.e. femoral head against acetabular shell when liner has worn out  3. Interposed third body particles i.e. bone or cement  4. Two non bearing surfaces together i.e. back sided fretting, morse taper fretting, screws
  • 14.
    Loosening of THA components With Cemented THAs, the acetabulum is the first component to fail from loosening.  With cementless hips, the femoral component loosens more often as a result of osteolysis.  Loosening occurs at implant-cement interface in femoral component, while at bone-cement interface in acetabulum.
  • 15.
    Zones of loosening Femoral component Seven Gruen zones  Acetabular component Three Delee and Charnley zones
  • 16.
    Gruen 7 zones offemur •Zone 1 •Debonding •Zone 4 •Subsidence •Zone 7 •Fragmentation of cement
  • 18.
  • 20.
  • 21.
    Harris grading Cemented Femoralloosening; Radiographic  Definite loosening  Stem failure – fracture/deformation  Cement mantle fracture esp zone 4  Radiolucency >1mm  Changes in stem position- usually varus position  Pistoning effect  Probable loosening  Continous radioluscent line at bone-cement interface  Endosteal cavitation-linear and focal osteolysis  Possible loosening  Radioluscent lines at bone-cement interface 50-100%
  • 22.
    Harris grading  1.Possible  Bone-cement lucency < 50% total  may be due to poor cementing technique
  • 23.
    Harris grading  2.Probable  Cement-implant radiolucent line >2mm wide  - progressive
  • 24.
     3. Definite Cement fracture(zone 4)  Femoral stem fracture  Radiolucency >2 mm  Greun zone 1> debonding  New lucency cement - implant interface  Stem migration,/ varus  Pistoning effect
  • 27.
    Mechanism of stemfailure A. Subsidence/Pistoning  1-2 mm normal in first year  > 5 mm abnormal  Quantified by measuring distance against a fixed landmark e.g tip of greater troch, tear drop
  • 28.
  • 29.
    Mechanism of stemfailure  B. Medial midstem pivot  Medial migration of the proximal stem in association with lateral displacement of the distal stem tip
  • 30.
    Mechanism of stemfailure  Calcar pivot  Either medial or lateral movement of the distal tip of the embedded stem with reasonable support proximally
  • 31.
    Mechanism of stemfailure  Distal pivot/bending cantilever  - distal fix strong, but proximally loose  - breakdown of proximal cement
  • 33.
    Are all radioluscentline due to loosening?  Radiolucent lines btn femoral cortex and cement  Cancellous bone not completely removed during sx  Normal age related expansion of femoral canal assoc cortical thinning.1  Medullary canal expands at 0.33mm/yr  Cortical thickness decrease by 0.15mm/yr  No surrounding sclerotic line  1. Poss et al study
  • 34.
    Technical problems that contributeto stem loosening  Failure to remove adequate cancellous bone medially  Inadequate quantity of cement  Thin column cracks easily  Tip of stem should be supported by a plug of cement  Presence of voids in cement  Poor mixing, injecting, pressurizing technique,  Blood, bone fragments ion cement( laminations)  Failure to prevent stem motion while cement is hardening  Failure to position component in neutral or mildly valgus position
  • 35.
  • 36.
    Engh classification Types basedon presence of radiolucent lines (RLL)  I. Stable bony ingrowth  Take one year to see  A. Spot welds at end of porous coating  B. Absence of RLL next to porous coating  - may have RLL next to non porous coated areas  C. Calcar atrophy secondary to stress shielding
  • 37.
    Stable bony ingrowth Spotwelds Stress shielding
  • 38.
    Stable fibrous ingrowth A. No spot welds  B. Parallel sclerotic lines /  RLL about porous coating  C. No migration 
  • 39.
    Unstable fibrous ingrowth A. Component migration  B. Progressive increase RLL  - divergent RLL  C. Pedestal formation (bony hypertrophy at tip)
  • 40.
    Cemented Acetabular loosening; radiographicfeatures  Bone-cement lucency >2mm and/or progressive  Medial migration and protrusion of cement and cup  Change in inclination of cup >50  Eccentric PE wear of the cup  Fracture of cup and/or cement(rare)
  • 41.
    Technical problems duringsx leading to cup loosening  Inadequate support of the cup by bone & cement  Insufficient bone stock  Acetabullum not reamed deeply enough  Failure to remove all cartilage, loose bone fragments, fibous tissue and blood  Failure to make sufficient no of holes in acetabulum to secure good cement-bone bon  Failure to pressurize cement, distribute cement  Movementt of cup or cement mantle while cement is hardening  Malpositioning of cup
  • 42.
    Uncemented Acetabular Component Concepts  Bone ingrowth into component averages only 12%  - even with 84% bone contact  Non continuous radiolucent lines  commonly found in press fit acetabular components  are often not progressive
  • 43.
    Radiographic signs ofingrowth fixation   Moore et al CORR 2006  - 3 or more 97% stable  - 2 or less, 83% unstable
  • 44.
    Radiographic signs ofingrowth fixation Five signs  - absence of radiolucent lines  - presence of a superolateral buttress  inferomedial buttress  - medial bone stress-shielding
  • 45.
    Radiographic signs of loosening 5 signs  - radiolucent lines that appear after two years  - progression of radiolucent lines after two years  - radiolucent lines in all three zones  - radiolucent lines 2 mm or wider in any zone  - migration > 2mm
  • 46.
    Engh Classification I. Stablebony ingrowth  A No RLL  B One RLL zone 1/2  C RLL zones 1 & 2
  • 47.
     II Stablefibrous ingrowth  - <2mm zone 3  III Unstable fibrous ingrowth  - >2mm RLL in zone 3
  • 49.
    Diagnosis  History  Painon wt bearing –groin, buttock or thigh  Typically ‘start-up’ pain  Pain relieved by rest, aggravated by hip rotation  Physical exam  Antalgic gait  Limb length discrepancy  Investigations  Laboratory  R/O infection  Imaging  Progressive radiolucency  Migration of implant
  • 50.
    Treatment  Asymptomatic patient Radiographicloosening often appears be4 symptoms More frequent follow-up Revision surgery if bone destruction is progressive  Symptomatic patient Revision surgery
  • 51.
    Indications for surgery Symptomatic patient  Loose implants  Large lytic lesions  Progressive osteolysis even if no symptoms
  • 52.
    Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty cementless components are generally preferred in revision settings.  The bone sclerotic and does not provide optimal conditions for cement interdigitation  only the loose components need to be revised  If implant remains stable despite osteolysis, bone grafting of the defects with retention of the implant is recommended

Editor's Notes

  • #30 poor cement superomedial or inferolateral