Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Prostheses made of metallic materials, polymer materials and ceramic materials have been successfully used in clinic, and the products have been developed to a more mature stage, but there are still advantages and disadvantages in each material.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the features and clinical application of different hip prostheses.
METHODS: An online search of Wanfang database was performed to retrieve articles about hip prosthesis materials published from January 1999 to February 2011 with keywords of “hip replacement”. Repetitive articles, reviews and Meta analysis were excluded, and finally 18 articles were included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Metal joint head and polyethylene acetabular combination is used most in hip replacement. However, the elastic modulus of the metal is far from that of the human skeleton, which leads to stress-shielding effect, and is likely to cause instability and loose of prostheses. Bio-inert ceramics is regarded as high stability and good mechanical strength in vivo, while bioactive ceramics have abilities of bone conduction and osseointegration in vivo. Composite prosthesis has been emphasized because of its adjustable elastic modulus and adequate mechanical strength, and similar mechanical properties with human bone. At present, there is no ideal prosthesis with good biocompatibility and biomechanical compatibility. Therefore, we should modify the design and manufacture processes of hip prosthesis to improve the wear resistance and mechanical properties, enhance integration between the prosthesis and the host bone, reduce stress shielding, and hope to find a new hip prosthesis so as to promote the biocompatibility with the host and prolong the prosthesis life.