If you or your doctor suspects that your implant may be placed slightly off and/or you are experiencing a lot of unexplained pain, it is a good idea to have your metail ion levels checked. Usually the surgeons do not advise getting this test done until you are at least one year post op, but check with your doctor. Here is the test you need to ask for, print this out.
Metal Ion levels test
The metal ion test is
usually outsourced to quest diagnostics.It does have to be done using special metal-free tubes to avoid
contamination, but any quest should be able to do it.
Order "Blood chromium
and blood cobalt", and you will normally get results in 1-2 weeks.
There will be some
variability between the lab centers used, but I think that you can get some
diagnostically useful results by doing it through quest or an equivalent lab
center.
If you need to find out if you are allergic to metals, this is the ONLY test that will work. Skin patch tests are useless. The way your body reacts to things on the surface is completely different than inside your body. You can NOT get this test done at just any lab, your doctor needs to send an order to Rush ONLY. Currently they are the only facility in the U.S. that I am aware of that does this test accurately.
To see the form for Metal Ions Lymphocyte Transformation Testing click here
Got my final test results in for my metal levels, I am almost 3 1/2 years post op and wanted to be a test subject and have my metal ion levels tested. Dr. Su was kind enough to assist and pay for the testing for my metal sensitivity tests so I had 11 very large tubes of blood drawn at my GP's offices and sent some tubes to RUSH in Chicago and some to a special local lab. Dr. Su called me and emailed me with my results. I show no allergies to any metals which was surprising to me since I am very allergic to cheap earrings. I will have to test out the theory that maybe the implant has made me no longer sensitive to metals by wearing some fake earrings one day. My metal levels were below normal, read below:
Mr. Derek McMinn on Pseudotumors - May 2010 (taken from written
interview)
A few centres have reported a phenomenon, which has been named
‘pseudotumors’ by a renowned orthopaedic hospital in Oxford. The term
pseudotumor refers to a problem, whereby a hip resurfacing or a
metal-on-metal hip replacement fails with a painful swelling or with
collection of fluid around the hip joint. The word ‘pseudotumor’ has
caused consternation among patients who were worried if this is some
kind of a hidden cancer or a pre-cancerous condition. These need to be
put into perspective.
November 15, 2008
So now to metal ion problems. These fall into 2 broad groups, which are not at all the same.
The first is metallosis. This is when there is a manufacturing or alloy or placement problem that leads to high metal ion or particle production. This causes localised inflammation, swelling, pain and tissue necrosis, but not usually implant loosening. It is something everyone and anyone can have although the threshold level at which the 'overload' becomes a problem will vary. Some alloys are more 'toxic' than others. It is NOT an allergy!
Blood and urine metal ion levels in young and active patients after Birmingham hip resurfacing arthroplasty FOUR-YEAR RESULTS OF A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Scientists knew for long that body
tissues’ reaction to wear products of metal-metal hip joints, compared with
reaction to wear products of polyethylene or ceramic total hips, is different.
Microscopic examination of tissues around the failed metal-metal total hips
showed that body reacts to presence of metallic wear products by strangling the
small arteries in the tissues around the metal on metal hip joints. Death of
these soft tissues follows. If the patient is allergic to metals contained in
the metal-metal total joint the death of the tissues may be extensive.
"Any implant can get infected either at time of surgery or seeded later on. That includes valves, skull plates, ortho hardware and even dental implants. Just a fact of life. On psuedotumors, they are nothing new, just a sign of rejection by the body, a big immune complex if you will. Rice bodies, the same, essentially small immune complexes floating around inflamed joints seen in a number of inflamatory arthritis diseases........."
June 2008
Also let me note that the concern about metal ions in pregnancy is actually not about mutation of the sperm or egg, but the exposure to metal ions affecting the developing fetus. That is why they looked at trans-placental transfer. They saw that there were increased levels of ions in the fetal side of the placenta, but thankfully, no abnormalities have been seen in the children.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Medical School
10 Shattuck Street, Suite 612
Boston, MA 02115 USA
www.health.harvard.edu
New studies show chromium may help diabetes, cholesterol, and heart disease, reports the Harvard Men's Health Watch.
