THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION AND SURFACE OF THE IMPLANT ON INFECTION

The influence of the localization and size of orthopaedic implants on infection has been analyzed extensively, but the influence of implant shape and chemical composition has rarely been studied, and the influe nce of the surface has only been described in one single report. Sever al experimental studies have tried to compare the incidence of infecti on for different materials. PMMA usually appears as the implant materi al most prone to causing infection, while titanium (Ti) and cobalt-chr omium (CoCr) are the materials most resistant to infection. On the pol ished surface of cylinders implanted in rabbit femora, it took 40 time s more inoculum to produce a clinical infection than it took for porou s CoCr implants. The polished surface implants required 2.5 times more inoculum than porous Ti to produce infection.