Hip Implants Stand Test of Time
Reported May 07, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Hip implants without cement introduced back in the mid-1980s are holding up well.
The latest report from researchers who have been following some the original patients shows 96 percent of 124 cementless metal components used in the procedures are still securely in place 20 years following the operations.
The implants, which were designed by Dr. Jorge Galante, have a porous structure that allows bone to actually grow into the surface. Earlier implants used a special cement to secure the implant to the patients bones and were prone to failure after about 10 years of use.
The hope was to provide more durable fixation, especially for younger patients with a longer life span, Dr. Galante was quoted as saying.
The most recent outcomes are based on the experiences of 111 surviving patients. While some failures have occurred over time for example, 20 percent of patients have needed surgery to repair the plastic lining of the metal shell of the implant, and cases of osteolysis, or bone resorption, have increased overall the results are considered good.
Recent improvements promise even better results in the future.
With time, the number of repeat surgeries due to wear and osteolysis has increased, as have the numbers of cases of osteolysis we identified radiologically, study author Dr. Craig Della Valle, from Rush University Medical Center, was quoted as saying. But with the newer, more wear-resistant bearing surfaces we are now using, we believe that fewer patients today will need revision surgery for these reasons.
SOURCE: Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, published online May 1, 2009
