Health Sciences · Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Two examples of the same model of total knee implant. They consist of a flat knee hemiarthroplasty with two hexagonal pegs for fixation. Both are entirely covered in a trabecular porous metal surface material.
Accession Number: 2025.med.56.1-2
Alternative Name:
Elemental tantalum (trabecular surface), Metal alloy substrate material.
Markings:
Each example: Height = 2, Width = 8.5, Length = 5.5.
This is the tibial component of a total knee replacement. It is covered in a proprietary textured surface, developed by Zimmer, that approximates the texture of bone. This surface is made of tantalum, a chemically stable and biologically inert element. The textured surface promotes the in-growth of natural tissue. The texture also provides a high coefficient of friction that renders the implant more stable when it is first installed.
This implant is meant to be used with a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) tray that forms the bearing surface for the tibial component.
Both are unused and in excellent condition. Each has a small area (~2 mm) of damage to the trabecular surface around the outer rim.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Zimmer. Warsaw, Indiana, USA.
Date of Manufacture: c. early 2000s
These items were among a small collection of artifacts donated by Dr. Allan Gross of Mount Sinai Hospital on 14 April 2025.
S.R.A Ghalayini, , A.T Helm, and G.J McLauchlan (2012). “Minimum 6 Year Results of an Uncemented Trabecular Metal Tibial Component in Total Knee Arthroplasty.” The Knee 19, no. 6: 872–74.
Historical Notes:
- Donated to UTSIC