Mechanical bond strength of the cement-tibial component interface in total knee arthroplasty

The purpose of this study was to mechanically test the cement-tibial component interface using titanium and cobalt-chrome sample prostheses with several commercially available surface textures. The results of this study indicate that the type of metal substrate and surface preparation of contemporary tibial baseplates may influence the strength of the metal-cement interface and as such influence tibial component survival. The results indicate that, in general, metal-cement interface strength increases with increasing surface roughness and common surface treatments such as AlO2 grit-blasting (Ra = 6.76 microm) produce interface strengths similar to plasma-spray, porous-coated specimens. Macrosurfaced tibial components, although comparable in tension, may be vulnerable to metal-cement interface failure with rotational loading.