Hip Replacement Surgery- Metal or Plastic?
Hip replacement surgery is one of the most common orthopedic procedures. In this surgery, the arthritic, damaged hip joint is removed and then artificially developed and designed hip joint is replaced to function as hip joint, which resemble a ball-and-socket. In this artificial implant, materials used are metals that include titanium, stainless steel, and cobalt chrome. And in the plastic replacement the material used is called polyethylene. Although the replacement surgery depends on several factors, including the age of the patient, the activity level of the patient, and the surgeon’s preference, but with the latest finding from the British registry suggests that plastic hip replacement is better than that of metal replacement.
The latest find according to British registry is that people who get metal hip replacements are more likely to need a replacement compared to those who get a traditional plastic one. In a recent report, the National Joint Registry of England and Wales, cautions among doctors when performing hip replacements and survey shows a drop in the use of metal joints.
It was also observed that, almost 14 per cent of patients who got an all-metal replacement needed the joint removed or replaced after seven years, compared to with just 3 per cent of patients who got a joint made of plastic and needed a replacement within the same time.
Traditional plastic hip replacements usually last more than 10 years, but British officials noted some of the replacements were failing within a few years. The UK registry includes records from about 1 million people who had hip, knee, and ankle replacements and is the world’s largest joint database.
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