Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) acetabular liners used in cementless total hip arthroplasty (THA) have demonstrated better wear resistance at 10 years compared with conventional polyethylene (CPE) liners. No clinical studies have compared XPLE to CPE liners beyond 10 years.
We performed a 15-year retrospective cohort study on cementless THA performed in patients with developmental hip dysplasia to measure the differences in polyethylene wear rates and the presence of osteolysis. Twenty-four THAs with XLPE and 17 THAs with CPE were evaluated. The mean age of patients was 55.9 years (41-68) in the XLPE group and 54.4 years (40-67) in the CPE group. The mean follow-up period was 15.1 years (13.9-16.1) in the XLPE group and 15.2 years (14.5-16.0) in the CPE group.
The XLPE group had a significantly lower wear rate at 5 and 10 years compared with the CPE group; however, no significant difference was found at 15 years (XLPE group, 0.040 mm/y; CPE group, 0.034 mm/y). In addition, the incidence of osteolysis did not differ significantly between the groups. However, the incidence of excessive wear between 10 and 15 years after surgery in the XLPE group was significantly higher than that in the CPE group.
XLPE demonstrated no advantage in the wear rate or the incidence of osteolysis at 15 years, despite having superior wear resistance up to 10 years. It is concerning that the incidence of excessive wear was higher in the XLPE group between 10 and 15 years, and this finding should alert the arthroplasty community to this possible problem with the more highly cross-linked polyethylene.