High metal ions post revision

[Ollieboo]

I'm new to this forum, so apologies if this is the wrong place on the forum, but was just hoping for some advice.

It's a long story, but in brief, I had bi-lateral resurfacing in 2004, my left hip failed in 2012 - very high metal ion levels (1035 nmol/L chromium & 2647 nmol/L cobalt), which resulted in pseudo tumours.  I had a revision in Sept 2012 - since then my cobalt levels have dropped down until almost zero, but while my chromium levels dropped straight after surgery, down to 178 nmol/L by Jan 2013 (5 months post revision), they then started to go back up and are currently at 255 nmol/L or 13ppb at 18 months post revision.

My surgeon doesn't know whether the chromium is leftover from the left hip or is coming the right hip - if it's the latter, I'd like to have it revised before it causes all the damage I have to deal with in the left and also before my health gets worse (I have lots of problems from the high metal such as severe fatigue, other weird immune reactions like skin rashes and swollen joints).

Has anyone else had experience of really high metal ions and how fast did they come down post surgery?  I have seen a few stories on here of people with similar levels to me and I'd really appreciate any extra info I can take to my surgeon to help make a decision.

[obxpelican]

Was the first cup set at the wrong angle?  If yes, what is the angle of the other hip?

Most of the time high metal ions are caused by misalignments between the two implants.




Chuck

[Ollieboo]

Thanks for responding.

The initial left hip that failed was definitely at the wrong angle - it was actually 'improvised' (surgeon's words not mine!) and the cup they used didn't ever fit properly. I now have a THR in this left hip.

I've never been told the angle of the right joint but my surgeon always said it looked well-placed on x-rays.   

I'm pretty sure the left failed as it was never positioned correctly. But the key question is if that device has now been removed and the remaining right one is well-functioning, why is my chromium trending up not down as reports (including McMinn website) say they should.

[obxpelican]

Send your x-rays to Su or Dr. Gross, just because your Dr. Says the cup angle is good does not mean it's correct.  Most doctors do a post op x-ray and your doctor probably knew the angle right then.

Cups are almost always the fault of the doctor.

If you are still having ion issues 99% of the time it's because of a misaligned cup, if your other surfaced hip is good then I would not worry as it's probably just leftover metal in your body.

Get that cup looked at by some other doctor ASAP.


Chuck

Thanks for responding.

The initial left hip that failed was definitely at the wrong angle - it was actually 'improvised' (surgeon's words not mine!) and the cup they used didn't ever fit properly. I now have a THR in this left hip.

I've never been told the angle of the right joint but my surgeon always said it looked well-placed on x-rays.   

I'm pretty sure the left failed as it was never positioned correctly. But the key question is if that device has now been removed and the remaining right one is well-functioning, why is my chromium trending up not down as reports (including McMinn website) say they should.

[hernanu]

Completely agree with Chuck.

Good luck..