Quantitative and qualitative analysis of polyethylene wear particles in synovial fluid of patients with total knee arthroplasty. A preliminary report.

Synovial fluid from 13 knees undergoing revision total knee arthroplasty was subjected to chemical digestion and ultrafiltration. Scanning electron microscopy was used to visualize high-density polyethylene particles filtered from the fluid, and the images were analyzed using digital imaging software. This data were correlated with polyethylene wear patterns seen at the time of revision surgery. Patients' prostheses with gross polyethylene wear were differentiated from those with surface deformation and burnishing. The knees had been in situ for periods ranging from 3 to 112 months, and included 6 different prosthetic designs. The average area of the polyethylene particles measured ranged from 41 to 701 mu 2, and the total number of particles identified for each sample ranged from 38 to 279 mu 2. The largest particle identified had a surface area of 17,500 mu 2. Using the fluid volume analyzed, the particle area per milliliter of synovial fluid examined was calculated, and values ranged from 6.22 x 10(4) to 2.06 x 10(6) mu 2/ml. Visualization of high-density polyethylene using scanning electron microscopy allows greater resolution of morphologic detail than is possible with routine histologic examination using light microscopy. There were trends toward increasing particle size and total particle area in patients with gross polyethylene wear. The area of high-density polyethylene per milliliter of fluid in patients with gross wear was found to be statistically greater than that of patients without gross wear (p = 0.047). This technique offers a potentially valuable method of evaluating the status of high-density-polyethylene bearing surfaces in situ using a noninvasive technique.