Plastic Outwears Metal in Joints (Biloine Young @ OTW)
An analysis of the rate of hip joint replacements by the National Joint Registry of England and Wales found that metal hip replacements are more likely to be replaced than are plastic ones. According to an Associated Press account of the report, almost 14% of patients who got an all-metal hip replacement had to have the prosthesis removed or replaced after seven years.
Just 3% of the patients who had a plastic joint needed a replacement within the same period of time. The average age of patients who received the hip replacements was 67.
The National Joint Registry contains records from about one million people who had hip, knee, and ankle replacements and is the world’s largest joint database. There is no similar registry in the U.S. The report noted that the use of all-metal hip replacements has fallen. In 2006, metal hip replacements were used in about 15% of procedures. That has now dropped to about 5%.
According to the report traditional hip replacements usually last more than ten years but the obesity epidemic appeared to be having an impact. An increasing number of patients needing hip and knee replacements were overweight or obese.