Metal On Metal Hip Replacement Cobalt Levels

Average cobalt levels before hip replacement surgery were 21 nmol l for mom patients and 19 nmol l for mop patients.

Metal on metal hip replacement cobalt levels.

As hip replacements fail and metal flakes enter the body patients can suffer from cobalt toxicity elevated cobalt levels. Metal on metal hip implants were often constructed with cobalt and chromium. A diagnosis out of the blue by robert d. Cobalt is a part of vitamin b12 needed to produce red blood cells.

Cobalt toxicity can occur with metal on metal and metal on polyethylene hip implants. Slightly elevated metal levels are normal for patients with metal on metal hip replacements. Bunning md facp facr. This year s international story of cobalt toxicity occurring from metal wear after total hip replacement surgery was first broken during a session at the acr winter symposium on jan.

Average values in patients operated are 4 1 1 5 microg l for cobalt 0 3 0 1 microg l in the control group and 4 5 2 9 microg l for chromium 4 7 2 4 microg l in the control group. The results obtained confirm the presence of an increase of cobalt inthe blood of patients after total hip replacement while the chromium levels are almost alike. Released a report saying that concentrations higher than 7 parts per billion ppb of cobalt and or chromium are of concern. But plants animals and humans need only tiny amounts of it to survive.

The body naturally stores a certain level of cobalt and chromium for healthy cellular function. Besides the symptoms associated with other forms of metallosis cobalt toxicity can cause patients to suffer from fever inflammation and low thyroid levels. One year after surgery average cobalt levels had risen to 417 nmol l for mom patients but only 33 nmol l for mop patients.