A recent study done in
California which looked at more than 35,000 hip replacement surgeries across 46
hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente health system claims that hip replacements
are more likely to fail in women than in men. This includes all types of hip
implants—ceramic, polyethylene and metal-on-metal although. While fewer women
are implanted with metal-on-metal hip implants, the failure rate of those types
of implants was nearly twice as high for women as for men. The all-metal hip
implants were marketed as being extremely durable, lasting fifteen years and
more.
The claims were not supported, however as recipients of the all-metal hip implants began coming forward with a wide array of negative health effects they claim resulted directly from the all-metal hip implant.
The claims were not supported, however as recipients of the all-metal hip implants began coming forward with a wide array of negative health effects they claim resulted directly from the all-metal hip implant.
Potential Risks of All-Metal Hip Implants
Some of the manufacturers of
the all-metal hip implants were forced to recall their models and are now
laboring under hundreds and even thousands of lawsuits. When the metal parts
come in contact with one another during times when the patient is walking,
running or engaging in other activities, tiny metal shards can shear away from
the implant and burrow into surrounding tissues. This causes severe
inflammation which, as the metals continue to build up, can lead to destruction
and death of tissue, bone loss and chronic pain. In many cases the implant will
fail completely, requiring risky revision surgery. Others have suffered adverse
health effects when the metal ions enter the bloodstream causing such symptoms
as:
·
Gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal and
thyroid issues
·
Depression, anxiety, irritability
·
Vision and hearing impairment
·
DNA disruption
·
Pseudo-tumors
·
Loss of balance
·
Memory loss
Failure Rate of
Hip Implants among Women
Overall, however, considering
all types of hip implant devices, the failure rate at three years post-op is
2.3 percent for women and 1.9 percent for men. Women tend to have much smaller
joints and bones than men which require that a smaller femoral head be used in
the artificial implant. Unfortunately
the devices which have smaller femoral heads are much more likely to dislocate,
requiring risky revision surgery. Another potential cause of the higher
revision rate among women could relate to greater bone density loss,
particularly in post-menopausal women.
Some research points to the
fact that women tend to wait longer before agreeing to hip implant surgery and
also report greater levels of pain than men. Diana Zuckerman, president of the
National Research Center for Women and Families cautioned women not to be
fooled by “hype” regarding the latest hip implants. Zuckerman believes women
who need a hip replacement implant should research the implants on the market
and choose one which has been used for a number of years with very few problems
among the implant recipients.
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