Patricie Merkert

Safety of Ceramic Components

A statistical analysis of ceramic implant failure is presented. It is shown that the majority of failures occure within the first 12 months after implantation. From this characteristic distribution the prediction of the total failure rate is possible even for the latest years of production. There have been considerable improvements of the reliability in the past 5 years. Furthermore, there is evidence that the failure rate strongly depends on ball head diameter. For the largest ceramic ball head of 36mm diameter up to now no failure has been reported. From these results it is concluded that ceramic implant failure is in general released by individual circumstances. In particular, the probability of failure may be strongly increased in the case of limited mobility and an increased risk of impingement. In the case of a well developed specific surgeon training and right choice of the ceramic implant system the ceramic components provide an extremely reliable and safe solution for the patient.

The Ceramic Option in Ball Head Revision Surgery

A ceramic ball head design with metal sleeves was developed to be used in revision surgery if the stem is well fixed in the bone.