Metal ion levels following resurfacing arthroplasty of the hip: serial results over a ten-year period.
We report serum metal ion level data in patients with unilateral and bilateral hip resurfacing over a ten-year period. In these patients there is an increase in both cobalt and chromium levels above the accepted reference ranges during the first 18 months after operation. Metal ion levels remain elevated, but decline slowly for up to five years. However, the levels then appear to start rising again in some patients up to the ten-year mark. There was no significant difference in cobalt or chromium levels between men and women. These findings appear to differ from much of the current literature. The clinical significance of a raised metal ion level remains under investigation.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK.
R M
RM
deSouza
N R
NR
Parsons
T
T
Oni
P
P
Dalton
M
M
Costa
S
S
Krikler
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000379:methods*; D002857:Chromium / Q000097:blood*; D003035:Cobalt / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies
D002857:Chromium; D003035:Cobalt