"Long-term Safety and Efficacy Proven for Artificial Hip Arthroplasty Using 3rd Generation Ceramic Joint Surfaces"

Professor Lee Young-kyun's Team at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital
16-Year Follow-Up Shows 97.1% Survival Rate
No Wear or Prosthesis Detachment and Low Bone Resorption

From the left, Professor Kyung-Hoe Koo, Professor Young-Gyun Lee, and Professor Jung-Wi Park from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A research team led by Professor Lee Young-gyun from the Department of Orthopedics at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 5th that they have proven the safety and effectiveness of artificial hip joint replacement surgery using third-generation ceramic joint surfaces in patients with femoral head necrosis through a 16-year follow-up study.

In particular, the 16-year survival rate of the patients who underwent the surgery was 97.1%, and the Harris hip score, which quantifies hip joint function, was an excellent 91.7 points.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is a disease in which the blood supply to the head of the femur, the thigh bone, is insufficient, causing bone necrosis. It mainly affects active individuals in their 30s to 50s and males, and the total number of patients has been increasing annually, with about 35,000 people receiving treatment for bone necrosis in 2019.

The problem is that even if only one hip joint is affected, there is a high probability that necrosis will also appear in the opposite hip joint, becoming a major cause of degenerative hip arthritis. If the condition is not severe, it can be treated through follow-up observation, but most patients visit the hospital after symptoms appear late, making it inevitable to remove the damaged joint and insert an artificial joint through artificial hip joint replacement surgery.

The conventional surgical method mainly used a "metal-polyethylene bearing," but over time, polyethylene wore out or bone resorption occurred at the surgical site, causing various problems. To address these issues, a surgical method using ceramic joint surfaces was developed, but there has been no research clarifying the long-term stability of this surgery.

The orthopedic surgery team of Professors Koo Kyung-hoe, Lee Young-gyun, and Park Jung-wi at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital conducted a follow-up observation for an average of 12.9 years (up to 16 years) on 231 patients who underwent artificial hip joint replacement surgery from 2003 to 2009, annually performing CT and other radiological examinations to check ▲bone resorption at the surgical site ▲ceramic-related complications ▲presence of hip joint noise, and clinical outcomes including post-surgery survival rate.

The study results showed a 16-year survival rate of 97.1%, indicating excellent biocompatibility. Furthermore, there was no wear or prosthesis dislocation, which were the main problems in the conventional metal-polyethylene bearing surgery, and bone resorption was also the lowest. Additionally, 20 patients (6.8%) experienced noise in the hip joint, but it was not audible to others and did not limit movement.

This study is significant in that it clarified the stability of the surgical method through long-term follow-up using the latest equipment on many patients, and it is expected to serve as an important foundation for future research on surgeries using ceramic joint surfaces. Professor Lee Young-gyun stated, “Surgery using ceramic joint surfaces can perfectly complement the problems arising from conventional surgeries and can be used long-term without issues. We will continue research on artificial hip joint surgeries using various ceramic joint surfaces, including the fourth generation, not stopping at the third generation, for patients suffering from avascular necrosis of the femoral head.”

This paper was published in the April issue of ‘The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery,’ the world’s leading orthopedic journal.

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