A Glance on Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants

With the advancements in technology, more innovations are introduced including metal-on-metal (MoM) implants. Hip implants are among one of the innovations that'll serve as a blessing to those with severely injured hips especially the elderly. The need to find an implant for damaged hip joints which could withstand the wear and tear overtime is on the rise. The idea is to make these prosthetic devices permanent to save time, money and effort. However, errors cannot be avoided like what happened to DePuy Pinnacle whose mother company is facing a $70 million lawsuit.

What is a Metal-on-metal (MoM) Hip Device?

MoM belongs to the 4 devices that the Americans can choose when they need to have a hip replacement surgery. It consists of a ball, stem and shell and all are made out of metal. The most commonly used metals are Cobalt-chrome and Titanium. There is no specific study showing which metal is better but cobalt-chrome has been used in orthopaedic prosthetics for 65 years without much report of allergies or rejections. When it was first introduced in the US in 2002, it was considered as a huge breakthrough. The first MoM device was made of cobalt-chrome. Some companies like DePuy designed their MoM device to have an appeal on the youth and the active because of the durability.

Advantages of a MoM Hip Device

MoM hip device can be considered as the best in terms of durability and can relatively last a long time there is proper care.

MoM device has  a number of advantages such as the following: 

-Greater freedom of activity

-Less chances of being dislocated

-Less total material removed (compared to other devices) when there is friction     -between the ball and socket

-Believed to last a relative longer period of time (at least 15 years) so a revision -surgery or another hip replacement won't be necessary

Concerns on MoM Devices

With the advantages, concerns were also raised on metal-on-metal devices as they are known to have a variety of side effects. Among the concerns raised is the development of metal toxicity as a result of metal particles wearing off due to friction upon movement. Over time, the metal particles can be a possible cause of injury to the bone and the tissues around and this phenomenon is called adverse local tissue reaction (ALTR). This may lead to the loosening of the implant which may ultimately cause pain and a revision surgery might be needed. Some of those mentioned above were reported by patients who filed a DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit wanting to claim their rightful compensation. As a whole, there are a lot of risks involved in a hip replacement surgery but your surgeon will help you go through each so you'll know the best prosthetic device that will suit you.