Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Reaming of the acetabular cavity prior to cementless cup implantation aims to create a defined press-fit between implant and bone. The goal is to achieve full implant seating with the desired press-fit to reduce the risk of early cup loosening and the risk of excessive cup deformation. Current research concentrated on the spherical deviations of the reamed cavity compared to the reamer size, but the direct relationship between nominal press-fit, reamer geometry, cavity shape and bone-implant contact has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the reaming process, the surface coating, and the implantation force on the achieved press-fit situation.
METHODS
Fresh-frozen porcine acetabulae (n = 20) were prepared and embedded. Hemispherical reamers were used and the last reaming step was performed using a vertical drilling machine to ensure a proper alignment of the cavity axis. A hand-guided 3D laser scanner was used (HandySCAN 700, Creaform) to determine the reamer geometry and the cavity shape. Press-fit cups with two different surface coatings (Ø44 mm, Porocoat/Gription, DePuy Synthes) were implanted using a drop tower. The Porocoat cup was implanted with impacts from lower drop heights (low implantation force) and press-fits of 1 mm and 2 mm. The Gription cup, exhibiting a rougher surface, was implanted with low and high implantation forces and a press-fit of 1 mm. Bone-implant contact was analysed by the registration of the cup and cavity surface models, scanned prior to implantation, to the scan of the implanted cup. The cup surface was divided in areas with and without contact to the surrounding cavity. Overhang indicates that there was no adjacent cavity surface surrounding the implanted cup. The transition between contact and a gap at the cup dome was defined as contact depth and used as indicator for the cup seating.
RESULTS
The peripheral cavity diameter was on average 0.94 ± 0.29 mm smaller than the reamer diameter due to the sub-hemispherical distribution of the cutting blades. This led to an increased effective press-fit in the peripheral area of the cavity. The contact area between cup and bone increased with the implantation force (p = 0.008) and ranged from 13.1 % to 27.8 %. The contact depth was larger for the smoother Porocoat coating (p = 0.008), a press-fit of 2 mm (p = 0.008) and a higher implantation force (p = 0.008).
DISCUSSION
This study shows that, assuming similar implantation forces, an increased surface roughness of the cup coating increases the risk of an insufficient cup seating. For a given press-fit, higher implantation forces would be necessary to fully seat the cup in order to enhance the bone-implant contact. Implantation of a cup without a defined nominal press-fit could increase the contact area; however a high reaming accuracy and an increased friction coefficient of the cup coating are required to compensate for a reduction in initial fixation strength caused by reduced radial compressive forces.
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