Ff. Hennig et al., NICKEL-CONCENTRATIONS, CHROM-CONCENTRATIONS AND COBALT-CONCENTRATIONSIN HUMAN TISSUE AND BODY-FLUIDS OF HIP-PROSTHESIS PATIENTS, Journal of trace elements and electrolytes in health and disease, 6(4), 1992, pp. 239-243
The world-wide experience with millions of metallic implantations sugg
ests the biocompatibility of modern alloys, commonly made of cobalt, c
hromium and nickel. There is, however, little information available on
the internal metal exposure resulting from implants. In this study we
assessed the metal concentrations in body fluids and tissue samples (
muscle, bone) of patients who had undergone total hip replacement. Our
patients were divided up into two groups. One group had firmly fixed
implants two years after surgery. The other group had loose implants o
f the same Co-Cr-Mo alloy. Urine analyses revealed an increased renal
elimination of nickel, chromium and cobalt. Cobalt and nickel exceeded
the upper normal value. In serum the concentrations of nickel and chr
omium were normal or slightly elevated, the cobalt concentrations were
significantly elevated. In some cases tissues adjacent to the implant
showed extremely high concentrations of chromium and cobalt. This fin
ding was also obtained in tissues that had no direct contact with the
arthroplasty. The findings suggest that alloys of prostheses can under
go corrosion and release metal ions.