Hip Replacement System Minimizes Dislocation

A new total hip replacement system has been designed to help minimize dislocation and its associated healthcare costs, while providing an alternative to metal-on-metal bearings.

The Trident polyethylene hip system uses low friction ion treatment (LFIT) anatomic femoral heads with X3 polyethylene liners. LFIT technology is a bombardment of nitrogen ions onto a cobalt-chrome (CoCr) surface, which enhances the material properties of the metal, in turn reducing frictional forces against ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) surfaces. The treatment provides improved wettability and reduces the coefficient of friction.

The X3 polyethylene liners are composed of highly crosslinked polyethylene, manufactured in a third-generation annealing process with three sequential irradiation/annealing steps that provide a structural fatigue strength better than conventional polyethylene, a 97% reduction in wear over conventional polyethylene, and oxidation resistance similar to virgin polyethylene.

The new Trident hip system is a product of Stryker (Kalamazoo, MI, USA), and offers superior locking mechanisms, a choice of shell geometries, eccentric and constrained inserts for revision options, and is anatomically sized for more-natural hip performance. The system has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Up until now, metal on metal options in larger sizes only met the needs of a subset of the total hip population. We are excited that anatomic heads with X3 liners will help post- operative orthopedic patients achieve their lifestyle recovery objectives,” said Mike Mogul, president of Stryker Orthopaedics.



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