Anyone with a metal allergy have a hip replacement and if so, what materials were used and was outcome good?
Yes outcome very good.. I had titanium covered in ceramic ( to make absolutely sure lol ,). everything absolutely fine!
That’s awesome! The doctor had said we would use titanium, but I hadn’t heard of covered in ceramic yet. Glad you are doing well and thanks for sharing this.
LOL neither had I until the Surgeon mentioned it…Have been in touch with others who all had titanium, no issues with any of them re metal allergies. ![]()
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I break out in a rash if I wear cheap gold. That’s a classic nickel allergy, contact dermatitis. I don’t believe anyone is allergic to titanium as it is very non-reactive.
When I told my US Surgeon about the nickel allergy, he smiled and said that I was lucky. The ball it typically a type of stainless steel called Chromalloy, and it has nickel in it. There is also a ceramic ball. Normally, this is not used in the US because it is more expensive. However, it lasts longer and spallates less (giving off small particles of metal). He said that most European surgeons have gone to using the ceramic ball for everyone.
Regarding the titanium rod, it is generally coated in a porous ceramic, which allows bony ingrowth and subsequent stabilization. The old practice was to use bare metal and a cement made out of polymethylmethacrylate.
The cup is plastic (high molecular weight polyethylene), and it is held in place with titanium screws.
Thank you so much. Makes me feel better!
Thank you for this great information regarding the materials! I didn’t know anything detailed about what was used. Great starting point for discussing with surgeon.
Hi yes I have allergies to nickel and cobalt. I have had both hip and knee replacements using plastic and ceramic… hip was nearly 6 years ago knee nearly 5 years ago I didn’t have a problem with either of them until the last 6 months. they have found I have the staph infection in my hip which could only have been contracted during surgery so i am now waiting for revision surgery. yes its now very painful but silly me ignored the problem for years thinking it was just normal pain having a foreign body and thinking it would never feel normal. Never ignore something you feel its not right…our bodies know the truth. But as far as metal allergies go I was told that plastic and ceramic joints are much better and last a lot longer. cost a lot more money too but hopefully you won’t be paying for yours ,( fingers crossed
) . I’m here if you would like to chat about anything.
regards
Shirley
Hello Shirley, positive thoughts to you on your revision surgery and thanks for the good advice about not ignoring things that don’t seem right. Appreciate your response, information and helpfulness!