In case your imagining that your hip will be made of some sort of pottery let me reassure you.
Ceramic on ceramic vs metal hip replacement.
The clinical use of ceramic as a bearing surface dates back to the early 1970s.
Many surgeons today consider them to be an improvement over traditional metal and plastic implants in which the deterioration of plastic can lead to the gradual buildup of debris.
The stryker ceramic on ceramic hip labeling system features ceramic on ceramic bearing couples and consists of an aluminum ceramic insert aluminum ceramic femoral head metal acetabular socket and a metal femoral stem.
In fact the only thing harder than aluminium oxide is diamond.
Ceramic hip replacement systems made of durable ceramic oxides of metal offer both advantages and disadvantages over hip replacement systems made of metal or polyethylene among the advantages of ceramic hip replacements are their durability and that they don t release metal debris into the body which can occur with metallic artificial hips.
Ceramic hip implants are among the newer types of prostheses being used for hip replacement offering greater resistance to damage and smooth movement of the joint.
The type of ceramic used in hip replacements is an oxide of a metal oxide ceramics and specifically alumina ceramic and zirconia ceramic.
Ceramic hip replacement.
The ceramic on metal implant did show less wear and friction than the all metal counterpart however.
The type of ceramic used in total hip replacement today is aluminum oxide also known as alumina.