Evaluation of Prosthetic Implant Degradation

Initial Conclusions

December 2011

These findings lead us to some initial conclusions: First, compared to controls without implants, chromium and cobalt concentrations are elevated in blood, serum, and synovial fluids collected from ALL patients with metal-on-metal orthopedic implants. Second, serum chromium and cobalt concentrations increase with time after implant, reaching a steady state in about 3 years. And third, patients with implants showing significant metal-on-metal wear have significantly higher serum chromium and cobalt concentrations than those patients without implant wear. This relationship is not always true when evaluating chromium and cobalt concentration in synovial fluids.

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Initial Conclusions

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Jump to section:

• Introduction
• Orthopedic Prostheses
• Background
• Patient Workup
• Issues of Concern
• Metal-on-Metal Wear-Induced Tissue Necrosis
• Metal-on-Metal Wear-Induced Tissue Necrosis
• Effect of Metallosis
• Initial Conclusions
• Interpretive Values
• Are These Concentrations Toxic?
• Are These Concentrations Toxic?
• Specimen Collection
• Metal-Free Blood Tubes
• Summary
• References/Additional Reading
• Questions?
• Disclosure (Dr. Sierra)
• Disclosure (Dr. Moyer)