Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel with high water content is one of the potential materials for artificial cartilage. In the previous study, the wear behavior of PVA hydrogel prepared by freeze-thawing (FT) method (PVA-FT gel) showed the excellent friction and wear property in simulated biological environment. However, the improvement of mechanical strength and wear resistance would be also needed for clinical application of PVA hydrogel as artificial cartilage. The different kind of physically-crosslinked PVA hydrogels prepared by cast-drying (CD) method (PVA-CD gel) and hybrid method of FT and CD (PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel) were also developed, and these two hydrogels have different mechanical properties and showed low friction compared with PVA-FT gel in saline. In this study, PVA hydrogel prepared by CD and hybrid methods were newly developed and friction and wear behavior of PVA-CD gel and PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel were evaluated in simulated biological environment.

A sliding pair of an ellipsoidal reciprocating upper specimen of hydrogel and a flat stationary lower specimen of hydrogel was tested in reciprocating friction test. The thicknesses of PVA-CD gel and PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel were 2.0mm and 1.7mm, respectively. The applied load was 2.94 N. The sliding velocity was 20 mm/s and the total sliding distance was 1.5 km. In this study, solutions that contain hyaluronic acid, phospholipid and proteins were prepared as simulated synovial fluid and used as a lubricant for friction test. Molecular weight of sodium hyaluronate was 9.2×10⁵. L-alpha dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) was selected as phospholipid constituent and was dispersed in saline as liposome. This liposomal solution was used as a base lubricant. Albumin and gamma-globulin, which are main protein constituents in natural synovial fluid, were used as additives as protein constituents.

As shown in Fig.1, PVA-CD gel showed low friction such as below 0.02 at initial state of friction test. However, friction coefficient of PVA-CD gel rapidly increased and reached to about 0.5. In contrast, PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel kept low friction within the friction test. After friction test, many deep scratches were observed on the worn surface of PVA-CD gel (Figs. 2(a)-(c)). In contrast, the original surface structure of PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel almost remained while some scratches were observed (Figs. 2(d)-(f)).

These results indicated that PVA-CD gel could show low friction but low wear resistance. The hybridization of FT and CD improved the wear resistance of PVA-CD gel. Therefore, the hybridization of FT and CD method is one of the prospective preparation methods of artificial cartilage with low friction and low wear. It is important to elucidate the mechanism of excellent lubricating property of PVA-CD on FT hybrid gel and develop the highly-functioned artificial hydrogel cartilage with low friction and high wear resistance.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the preferable solutions for regaining ambulatory activity for patients with end-stage osteoarthritis, and the procedure is well developed technically and large numbers of patients benefit from THA worldwide. However, despite the improvements in implant designs and surgical techniques, revision rates remain high, and the number of revisions is expected to increase in the future as a result of the increase in the volume of primary THA and the increase in the proportion of younger, more active patients who are likely to survive longer than their prosthetic implants. In revision THA, associated loss of bone stock in the acetabulum presents one of the major challenges. The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinical and radiographic outcomes and Kaplan-Meier survivorship of patients underwent revision surgeries of the acetabular cup sustaining aseptic loosening. We reviewed consecutive 101 patients (120 hips; 10 men 11 hips; 91 women 109 hips; age at surgery, 66 years, range, 45–85) who underwent acetabular component revision surgery, at a follow-up period of 14.6 years (range, 10–30). For the evaluation of the state of the acebtabulum, acetabular bony defects were classified according to the classification of the AAOS based on the intraoperative findings as follows; type I [segmental deficiencies] in 24 hips, type II [cavity deficiency] in 48 hips, type III [combined deficiency] in 46, and type IV [pelvic discontinuity] in 2. Basically, we used the implant for acetabular revision surgery that cement or cementless cups were for the AAOS type I acetabular defects, cementless cup, or cemented cup with reinforcement device were for type II, cemented cup with reinforcement device were for type III. Follow-up examination revealed that Harris Hip score improved from 42.5±7.8 points before surgery to 76±16.2 points (p<0.05). The survival rates of the acetabular revision surgery with cemented cups, cementless cups, and cemented cups with reinforcement devices were 65.1%, 72.8%, and 79.8%, respectively, however, there was no significant differences between the groups. There were nine cases, which failed in the early stage in the groups of cementless cups and cemented cups with reinforcement devices, because of the instability of the cementless cups or breakage of reinforcement plates caused by inadequate bone grafting. We conclude that the usage of the cementless cups for type I and II acetabular bony defects, and the cemented cups with reinforcement devices for type III bony defects will demonstrate durable long-term fixation in case of adequate contact between acetabular components and host-bone with restoration of bone stock by impaction bone grafting.