Cobalt from metal-on-metal hip replacements maybe the clinically relevant active agent responsible for periprosthetic tissue reactions

DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2012.05.003

Authors: Alister J Hart (Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, U.K.) , Paul D Quinn (Diamond Light Source) , Ferdinand Lali (Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, U.K.) , Barry Sampson (Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, U.K.) , John A Skinner (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Brockley Hill, U.K.) , Jonathan J Powell (Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Centre, U.K.) , John Nolan (Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, U.K.) , Keith Tucker (Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, U.K.) , Simon Donell (Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, U.K.) , Adrienne Flanagan (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, U.K.) , J Fred W Mosselmans (Diamond Light Source)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Acta Biomaterialia

State: Published (Approved)
Published: June 2012
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 1918

Abstract: Some types of metal-on-metal (MOM) hip replacements have unacceptably high rates of failure, such as the Ultima TPS MOM hip, with 13.8% failure at 5 years. This has been attributed to an inflammatory reaction following the release of cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) from the bearing surfaces and modular junctions. There is in vitro evidence that Co is more important than Cr in the inflammatory process, but there are no reported human tissue studies of the analysis of implant-derived metals.

Journal Keywords: Metal-on-metal hip arthroplasty; Chemical analysis; Periprosthetic tissue; Inflammatory response; Synchrotron

Subject Areas: Medicine, Biology and Bio-materials


Instruments: I18-Microfocus Spectroscopy

Other Facilities: no