The frictional behaviour of explanted PCA hip prostheses

The frictional characteristic of 22 explanted and two unused PCA total hip arthoplasties were assessed using the Durham hip simulator. The friction of the explanted joints was not found to be significantly different from that of the unused joints. In contrast, explanted Charnley joints often exhibit increased frictional characteristics. This discrepancy is accounted for by the lack of cement ingression in the PCA design.