[Gliding polyethylene-PMMA combination as "wear model"]

The situation, described in this casuistry, shows the fatal consequences of the huge amount of wear particles from the PE-PMMA-components of a total hip prosthesis. The prosthesis had been implanted in Russia. It was made of a PE-ball fixed to a titanium stem and a socket, which had been molded intraoperatively in situ. The combination of PMMA and PE in the bearing surface caused an extreme osteolysis in the proximal femur and the acetabulum and the loosening of the cup and the stem within only a few months.