Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) is to date an essential biomaterial for arthroplasty, still now without alternatives

for the knee. Methods available to improve its quality are still being discussed. In particular, stabilization using vitamin E to avoid

oxidative degradation, and consequently its wearing, is a very relevant subject following the recent approval of ASTM norms. Debris and

its consequences inside the organism are the subject of many studies that aim to prevent the disastrous biological effects that we

unfortunately still witness when the implantation of a prosthesis fails.

The IV International Congress on UHMWPE organized in Turin will be followed by a Satellite Symposium verging on evaluation

procedures, and the subsequent acquisition, of prosthetic materials by Italian Hospital companies. This meeting will ensure the

opportunity for an essential scientific confrontation among Orthopaedists, researchers and health related companies.