Review of wear mechanisms in hip implants: Paper II – ceramics IG004712

Ceramics are used in hip implants and have been found to produce lower wear rates. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of ceramics compared to other implant materials. Different types of ceramics that are being used are reviewed in terms of the wear characteristics, debris released, and their size together with other biological factors. In general, the wear rates in ceramics were lower than that of metal-on-metal and metal-on-polyethylene combinations. Results from several clinical studies are summarized in this paper providing full details from the published literature in this overview.