Abstract
The correlation of polyethylene socket thickness and femoral head size (22, 28 and 32 mm) to wear was investigated from retrieved total hip prostheses (22-mm Charnley; 28-mm Bioceram; and 32-mm Müller) . When the socket thickness was less than 9 mm, the larger the femoral head, the higher the linear wear rate. At 9 mm, the linear wear rates of the three types of prostheses were about 0.13 mm/year. At greater than 9 mm, the larger the femoral head, the lower the linear wear rate. When the socket thickness was less than 11 mm, the larger the femoral head, the higher the volumetric wear rate. At less than 11 mm, the volumet ric wear rates of the three types of prostheses were about 31 mm3/year. At greater than 11 mm, the volumetric wear rates of the three prosthetic sockets were approximately the same. The wear rate of the cross-linked socket irradiated by 100 Mrad was very low, with no correlation to socket thickness.
