The ban against metal-on-metal hip replacement implants has been widely requested by several medical experts, based on the reports by The Guardian. The newspaper revealed that research has found explicit findings of high failure rates of these implants, particularly among women.
There have been a number of researches in the recent months scrutinizing on the safety issues of some metal-on-metal hip replacements, and discovering that these types of implants may have a faster deterioration rate than implants designed from plastics and ceramic parts.
Hip implant recipients may find MoM hip implants unsafe to use due to its one very unique aspect. Because of the recent hip implants recalls, healthcare providers have taken the steps to reveal metal-on-metal implants’ high failure rates and the potential harm it may brought about to a patient caused by large amount of metal debris.
It has been discovered that metal debris causes damage on soft tissues and in and around the hip joint. Various studies have found that it may effect on directly killing the tissues and stimulating an inflammatory process. Pseudo-tumors have been detected to develop in the tissues near the metal hip in most patients who are embedded with large MoM hips.
These benign tumors are growths of pus and scar tissue resulting from this inflammatory process that has occurred in response to the foreign object implanted in the body. Metallosis is the term used when the body responds to metal exposure.
This inflammatory process can also affect the body's immune response by penetrating the T-lymphocytes, or T-cells, that drive up the body's hypersensitivity response. This is where the health consequences to cobalt and chromium become a larger concern. Cobalt has been known to cause cardiomyopathy, hypothyroidism, and both cobalt and chromium may possibly contribute to neurotoxic outcomes, as well as carcinogenesis, or cancer.
Stryker voluntarily recalled in July 2012 two of its products, the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular systems. According to Stryker Orthopaedics, there is a potential for fretting and corrosion where the parts of these modular Stryker hip replacements come together.
The official statement of Stryker Orthopaedics about this matter is that its revision surgery rates were below one percent. The data was used by May 28, 2012, however, it is not used already. Instead, Stryker describes the complication rates as extremely low. Although this is intended to sound reassuring, it also tells us they are likely uncertain about the actual failure rate.
Thinking of getting a hip replacement operation? Better weigh the risks and benefits of it first, to save yourself from further injury.
Source:
nytimes.com/2010/03/04/health/04metalhip.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/27/fda-probing-safety-of-metal-on-metal-hip-implants
orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00625