Research Article Wear Behavior of an Unstable Knee: Stabilization via Implant Design?

Copyright © 2014 Jörn Reinders et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Wear-related failures and instabilities are frequent failure mechanisms of total knee replacements. High-conforming designs may provide additional stability for the joint. This study analyzes the effects of a ligamentous insufficiency on the stability and the wear behavior of a high-conforming knee design.Methods. Two simulator wear tests were performed on a high-conforming total knee replacement design. In the first, a ligamentous-stable knee replacement with a sacrificed anterior cruciate ligament was simulated. In the second, a ligamentous-unstable knee with additionally insufficient posterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament was simulated. Wear was determined gravimetrically and wear particles were analyzed. Implant kinematics was recorded during simulation. Results. Significantly higher wear rates