Verilast Hip

How long do you want your hip implant to last?

Just like the surfaces of your natural hip joint, friction created when the surfaces of a hip implant rub together can cause these surfaces to wear down over time. This type of implant wear is a leading cause of hip replacement failure.

Conventional wisdom indicates that most hip implants should be expected to last 10 to 15 years before implant wear becomes an issue.1 At Smith & Nephew, we've always thought we could do better. And since today's more active hip patients are having surgery at a younger age and living longer, we knew we had to do better.

Enter VERILAST Hip Technology - a remarkable combination of advanced, low-friction materials that was designed to address implant wear on both surfaces of the implant: the award-winning OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium, a ceramicised metal alloy for the ball, and a highly "cross-linked" plastic for the socket. In fact, laboratory testing has shown that VERILAST Technology is capable of reducing hip implant wear by 67% when compared to traditional materials (cobalt chrome implants and highly cross-linked plastic) - even after 45 million cycles of laboratory wear simulation testing.2 That testing is 9 times longer than the industry standard for hip replacements! (See Important Testing Note below)

So while we cannot say we've eliminated implant failure due to wear, we believe our 20 years of dedicated research is paying off for patients who want to rediscover their active lives.

verilasthipwearchart

Important testing note

The results of laboratory wear simulation testing have not been proven to predict actual joint durability and performance in people. A reduction in wear alone may not result in improved joint durability and performance because other factors, such as bone structure, can affect joint durability and performance and cause medical conditions that may result in the need for additional surgery. These other factors were not studied as part of the testing.

Important safety notes

Hip replacement surgery is intended to relieve hip pain and improve hip function. However, implants may not produce the same feel or function as your original hip. There are potential risks with hip replacement surgery such as loosening, fracture, dislocation, wear and infection that may result in the need for additional surgery. Longevity of implants depends on many factors, such as types of activities and weight. Do not perform high impact activities such as running and jumping unless your surgeon tells you the bone has healed and these activities are acceptable. Early device failure, breakage or loosening may occur if you do not follow your surgeon's limitations on activity level. Early failure can happen if you do not guard your hip joint from overloading due to activity level, failure to control body weight, or accidents such as falls. Talk to your doctor to determine what treatment may be best for you.

References

  1. Elena Losina, Ph.D., co-director, Orthopaedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; William J. Robb III, M.D., chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NorthShore University Health System, Evanston, Ill; Feb. 10, 2012, presentation, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, annual meeting, San Francisco.
  2. A. Parikh, P. Hill, V. Pawar and J. Sprague, "Long-term simulator wear performance of an advanced bearing technology for THA," Orthop Res Soc, San Antonio, TX, Jan 26-29, 2013, 1028.
  3. ASTM F2384.19404-1 and ASTM F75.17485-1

All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2020 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.

OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium

What is OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium?

oxiniumhip

If it is determined that an implant made with VERILAST technology is right for you, the femoral head or ball of your implant will be made from OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium - a patented ceramicised metal alloy that Smith & Nephew spent more than a decade developing.

During manufacture, OXINIUM implants undergo a process that transforms the zirconium surface into a hard, ceramicised metal - while still retaining all of the durability of the underlying metal. This means that it won't fracture like a true ceramic, yet its ceramicised surface is more than twice as hard and therefore twice as resistant to the kind of scratching that can cause a cobalt chrome implant to wear out before its time.1

Important safety notes

Hip replacement surgery is intended to relieve hip pain and improve hip function. However, implants may not produce the same feel or function as your original hip. There are potential risks with hip replacement surgery such as loosening, fracture, dislocation, wear and infection that may result in the need for additional surgery. Longevity of implants depends on many factors, such as types of activities and weight. Do not perform high impact activities such as running and jumping unless your surgeon tells you the bone has healed and these activities are acceptable. Early device failure, breakage or loosening may occur if you do not follow your surgeon's limitations on activity level. Early failure can happen if you do not guard your hip joint from overloading due to activity level, failure to control body weight, or accidents such as falls. Talk to your doctor to determine what treatment may be best for you.

References

  1. Zardiackas, Lyle D., Kraay, Matthew J., Freese, Howard L, editors. Titanium, Niobium, Zirconium, and Tantalum for Medical and Surgical Applications ASTM special technical publication; 1471. Ann Arbor, MI: ASTM, Dec. 2005

All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2020 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.

What is XLPE?

hipxlpe

What is XLPE or highly cross-linked plastic?

As remarkable as OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium is, it is the combination of the OXINIUM material on XLPE that makes VERILAST Technology.

XLPE is created by altering chemical bonds in the polyethylene we use to create our plastic inserts. By doing so, we are able to create a tighter weave at the molecular level, thus reducing the amount of wear experienced when the metal component rubs against it. Perhaps the easiest way to think of it is like a fabric with a higher thread count.

Important safety notes

Hip replacement surgery is intended to relieve hip pain and improve hip function. However, implants may not produce the same feel or function as your original hip. There are potential risks with hip replacement surgery such as loosening, fracture, dislocation, wear and infection that may result in the need for additional surgery. Longevity of implants depends on many factors, such as types of activities and weight. Do not perform high impact activities such as running and jumping unless your surgeon tells you the bone has healed and these activities are acceptable. Early device failure, breakage or loosening may occur if you do not follow your surgeon's limitations on activity level. Early failure can happen if you do not guard your hip joint from overloading due to activity level, failure to control body weight, or accidents such as falls. Talk to your doctor to determine what treatment may be best for you.


All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2020 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.

VERILAST Hip Technology

Lab-tested for wear 9-times longer than the industry standard.1

(See Important Testing Note below)

VERILAST Hip

OXINIUM + XLPE = VERILAST Technology

If hip replacement is in your future, you've come to the right place to learn about a truly significant advancement in joint replacement materials, VERILAST Hip Technology.

It's important to remember that not every hip implant is the same. VERILAST Hip Technology is the one technology that directly addresses two of the most commonly cited concerns associated with hip replacement implants:2

  • Implant wear
  • Implant fracture

Whether or not to undergo hip replacement surgery is a very important decision. No matter how statistically safe and successful hip replacement surgery has proven to be, every surgery has risks. Before making any surgical decision, conversations should take place with your family, your primary care doctor and your orthopaedic surgeon to make sure that hip replacement with VERILAST Technology is the right course of action for your particular situation.

Important safety notes

Hip replacement surgery is intended to relieve hip pain and improve hip function. However, implants may not produce the same feel or function as your original hip. There are potential risks with hip replacement surgery such as loosening, fracture, dislocation, wear and infection that may result in the need for additional surgery. Longevity of implants depends on many factors, such as types of activities and weight. Do not perform high impact activities such as running and jumping unless your surgeon tells you the bone has healed and these activities are acceptable. Early device failure, breakage or loosening may occur if you do not follow your surgeon's limitations on activity level. Early failure can happen if you do not guard your hip joint from overloading due to activity level, failure to control body weight, or accidents such as falls. Talk to your doctor to determine what treatment may be best for you.

References

  1. Testing concluded at 45 million cycles. ISO 14242-1 defines test completion at 5 million cycles.
  2. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry Annual report. Adelaide: AOA; 2012.

All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2020 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.

VERILAST strength

What is the risk of hip implant fracture, chipping or squeaking?

Hip fracture

As one of the largest joints in the body, the hip is subjected to tremendous pressures even during simple, everyday activities. For example, the weight pressing against these joints during a simple walk can be 5 to 6 times your natural body weight.

Because the hip ball component of a VERILAST Hip implant uses a metal as its base, it can withstand forces far greater than those of a ceramic hip - another material often used in in hip implants.1

Unfortunately, while ceramic heads are biocompatible and may provide good resistance to implant wear, they can fracture under impact.2

As you will learn on the OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium page of this site, the surface of the VERILAST Hip implant is transformed into a ceramicised metal, retaining all of the durability of the underlying metal and offering the smooth, wear-reducing surface of a ceramic.3

And because this ceramicised surface is not a coating, it cannot chip off or flake away. Finally, because the VERILAST Hip ball rotates against a highly cross-linked plastic liner, there is less concern of squeaking than there is in "hard-on-hard" implant couples like ceramic-on-ceramic or metal-on-metal implants.4

So whether it is fracture, chipping or squeaking that concerns you, VERILAST Hip technology addresses each of these concerns.

Important safety notes

Hip replacement surgery is intended to relieve hip pain and improve hip function. However, implants may not produce the same feel or function as your original hip. There are potential risks with hip replacement surgery such as loosening, fracture, dislocation, wear and infection that may result in the need for additional surgery. Longevity of implants depends on many factors, such as types of activities and weight. Do not perform high impact activities such as running and jumping unless your surgeon tells you the bone has healed and these activities are acceptable. Early device failure, breakage or loosening may occur if you do not follow your surgeon's limitations on activity level. Early failure can happen if you do not guard your hip joint from overloading due to activity level, failure to control body weight, or accidents such as falls. Talk to your doctor to determine what treatment may be best for you.

References

  1. Data on file.
  2. G. Hadley Callaway, MD, William Flynn, MD, Chitranjan S. Ranawat, MD,and Thomas R Sculco, MD. Fracture of the Femoral Head After Ceramic-on-polyethylene Total Hip Arthroplasty. Journal of Arthroplasty; Vol. 10 No. 6: 1995.
  3. Zardiackas, Lyle D., Kraay, Matthew J., Freese, Howard L, editors. Titanium, Niobium, Zirconium, and Tantalum for Medical and Surgical Applications ASTM special technical publication; 1471. Ann Arbor, MI: ASTM, Dec. 2005.
  4. Claire L. Brockett, PhD, Sophie Williams, PhD, Zhongmin Jin, PhD, Graham H. Isaac, PhD, and John Fisher, D.Eng. Squeaking Hip Arthroplasties: A Tribological Phenomenon. Journal of Arthroplasty; Volume 28, Issue 1 , Pages 90-97, January 2013.

All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2020 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.


All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Every patient's case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor's specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

All materials copyright © 2019 Smith & Nephew, All Rights Reserved.

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McKinley Orthopedics & Sports Medicine provides quality care for Orthopedic Injuries. Give us a call at  907-456-3338  and let us know you are on your way.

Our address: 3745 Geist Rd Fairbanks, AK 99709

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