Retrieval Analysis of Mobile Bearing Knee Replacements

Principle Investigator

Douglas E. Padgett, MD

Scope

The implant retrieval archive at the Hospital For Special Surgery is the oldest and largest of its kind with over 30 years of retrieval experience.  Retrieval analysis gives us the unique opportunity to learn about the performance of human joint replacements.  This specific project involves the detailed analysis of mobile bearing knee replacements which have been retrieved at our institution.  Mobile bearing knee replacements have been touted by some to have lower wear rates than more conventional “fixed bearing knee”.  The goal of this study is to determine the extent of polyethylene damage in a consecutive series of retrieved mobile bearing knees at our institution.
 The student would be responsible for going through the archive with the assistance of one of our program engineers and identifying the implants of interest.  This study will require identification of implants, patient information including age, sex, BMI, length of implantation of the device, radiographic information including fixation of device and alignment at time of revision and finally non-destructive analysis of the implants themselves usually established methods for analysis with light microscopic techniques.  The student would be expected to submit a sound research proposal including a research question to be answered as well as expected methods for analysis within the first 2 weeks of the summer program and present preliminary results the final week.

Contact

Timothy Wright, PhD
wrightt@hss.edu