Hi,
I’m writing this question in regards to my dad. He is 62 years old and will be getting a hip replacement next month. (He had another appt yesterday and it was so bad they moved his surgery from March to Nov). We are really concerned for my dad’s hip replacement because of what we think is a metal allergy (to titanium). 2 years ago he had surgery on his left foot to fuse the bones together with titanium plates and screws..I am unsure of what this surgery is called, but basically they cleaned it out and put plates in. The recovery time was only supposed to be 4-6 week…it took him 9 months. He got a really bad infection in his foot even though he was doing everything correctly and going to physical therapy. The surgeon went in to remove all the metal bc his bones by that time had re-fused themselves back together. My dad recovered very well after that and was fine. He still has pain in his foot but not as bad as it was, however he will not get his other foot done because of how bad this infection was. His surgeon was unsure if he was allergic to the titanium or not, but he was fine after they took the metal out. We are nervous his hip replacement will do the same thing and he will be without a hip for awhile. Has anyone had an a hip replacement or knows of anyone who has and had to get it removed? Or is there a way to test him for an allergy? Also, besides ceramic, are there any other metals a hip replacement can be made of?
THANK YOU
Metal Allergies With Hip Replacement?
Tags: Allergies, Metal, Replacement, With
This entry was posted on July 13, 2010, 10:22 am and is filed under Pain Management and Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
#1 by cowboydo on July 13, 2010 - 3:56 pm
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Titanium is a non allergenic metal, that’s why they use it. Maybe your dad became so ill was because of scar tissue or infection not the metal, there is nothing else they can use. Usually scar tissue is the bad guy here in this case, talk to the doctor about it to relieve your minds.
#2 by Dennis Edissi on November 15, 2010 - 9:31 pm
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I have had my left hip replaced with Titanium. This surgery was completed on November 30, 2009. Approximately three weeks after surgery, large amounts of fluid was noticed accumulating in the immediate area of the hip. This clear and infection free fluid was removed three times by means of an asperation process. Today, almost one year later, this fluid continuously returns. After consulting with three orthopedic surgeons, they suggest that “perhaps” my body may be rejecting the Titanium; however they are NOT absolutely certain. Is there a method or test available to absolutely determine if the fluild present is due to the body rejecting the Titanium? At present, I was told that the large volume of fluid is preventing my musles from properly developing. My orthopedic consultants are not aware of such tests. I do not want to have my Titanium hip replaced with plastic by trial and error! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Dennis Edissi
Canada