Pyrocarbon - does it diminish wear?

TRIBOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF PYROCARBON COMPONENT AGAINST POLYETHYLENE COUNTERPART IN ANATOMIC TOTAL SHOULDER ARTHROPLASTY

These authors point out that concern regarding polyethylene wear debris in metal on polyethylene artificial shoulder joints is a theoretical limitation in the long-term survival of shoulder arthroplasties systems. As a result there is an interest in the use of alternative to hard bearing surfaces, such as pyrolytic carbon layer (PyroCarbon). They used the Newcastle Shoulder Wear Simulator to evaluate the wear behavior of four commercially available PyroCarbon humeral heads 43 mm diameter, articulating against conventional ultra-high molecular weight

polyethylene (UHMWPE) glenoid inserts with a radius of curvature of 17.5 mm.

Wear rates were similar to that found to well-proven metal on UHMWPE

shoulder arthroplasties. While the PyroCarbon did not roughen over the test duration, the lack of an appreciable reduction in wear of the UHMWPE component when articulated with an expensive and complex to manufacture PyroCarbon component likely means there may be little clinical cost-benefit in the use of a PyroCarbon on UHMWPE shoulder implant.

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