One of the most significant advances in modern surgery is in total joint replacement (TJR). Every year, surgeons perform hundreds of thousands of TJR surgeries. Material improvements have contributed significantly to this advancement.
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The W and H of Total Hip Replacement
The hip joints bear our entire body’s weight as well as forces exerted by hip and leg muscles. Except for our shoulder joint, it has the widest range of flexibility and motion allowing us to walk, run and jump. No wonder it is considered one of the most important joints in the human body. Replacement of hip joint with an artificial implant is considered one of the top achievements of its generation in the field of orthopedics. Multiple attempts with variety of materials including metal, ceramic and polymeric materials, spread over at least 300 years, allowed this progress. However, revolutionary advances in materials and implant designs starting in the 1960s, due to the efforts of pioneers such as Sir John Charnley, led to the development of the first top hit replacement or arthroplasty implants. Here is a little bit more on the what and how of top hip replacement.
The Prozyr Femoral Ball Recall
In 2001, in European and American regulatory agencies recalled millions 
of zirconia ball heads sold under the commercial name Prozyr by Saint Gobain Ceramiques Desmarquest. These heads are one of the important components used in a total hip replacement procedures also known as arthroplasty. This recall happened because the femoral ball heads were fracturing and failing at inordinately high rate after implantation in patients in a relatively short period of time. What followed was an intense international investigation by a panel of experts. The company and regulatory agencies wanted to find out answers to two central questions as soon as possible. What caused these fractures that led to the failure of these implants? What changed that caused this sudden jump in failure rates?