Finite Element Analysis of Proximal Cement Fixation in Total Hip Arthroplasty

Abstract

Total hip arthroplasty (THA), or surgical replacement of the hip joint with a prosthesis, is a reconstructive procedure that has improved the management of hip joint diseases that have responded poorly to conventional medical therapy. There are reasons to believe that the proximal part of the cement withstands more stress than the distal part in THA. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether it is possible to perform THA by cementing only the proximal part of the hip prosthesis. The polymethylmethacrylate cement has a Young’s modulus of 2GPa, a tensile strength of 29 MPa, and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.3. This analysis was done using a stainless steel stem model provided by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya Medical Centre, using a Young’s modulus of 200 GPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.28. The bone cement was modelled while the THA femur was reconstructed by inserting stem prosthesis into the femoral canal. The effects of different proximal cement lengths in THA were investigated by analyzing the stress distribution and displacement of the THA model during walking and stair climbing.

Keywords

• cemented tha
• finite element analysis
• proximal cementation
• total hip arthroplasty