Interesting Article on Cobalt Poisoning

[Brian Wilson]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/02/06/hollywoods_dr_house_meets_germanys_dr_juergen_schaefer.html

[grapesintx]

Yikes...wishing I hadn't read this...
But then again, I guess if I start having unexplainable symptoms, I'll be not likely to forget my HR!
I suppose these people in the article didn't have routine blood testing?
Lorie
Dr Gross
RHR-Biomet 1/22/14

[HowieF-16]

I have no fear.  Just like any medication you might take to improve a physical or mental ailment, there are potential side effects.  I once suffered from debilitating Rheumatoid Arthritis until some wonderful medications were made available at the end of the 1990s.  I can't tell you how many people I counseled on the benefits of these medications, but were too worried about the .01 of 1% that could get the horrendous side effects.  They chose a life of disability, when a solution to their problem, that was low risk, was staring them in the face.  I refuse to live my life in fear, because I read this article.

I have no regrets.  I am 1 month post op and look forward to an improved quality of life, that wasn't available by doing nothing or with a THR (OBTW, there are risks there, too).  We all know the risks going in and we all still chose to proceed with this wonderful surgery.  Yes, there are people who a Hip Resurfacing is not the right choice.  Hopefully, their surgeons have highlighted all the positives/negatives and they were able to make an informed decision.  There are also people who suffer from terrible problems after their HR and have to go on and get a THR.  Doing nothing was not a viable option for any of us.

OBTW.  Your chance of getting hit by a car while crossing the street is greater than your body shutting down due to Cobalt poisoning.  Just my perspective and I think most "surface hippy's" are with me.

[Brian Wilson]

Sorry. I didn't post The article with the intention of dissuading anyone from having a resurfacing. My body reacted badly to the metals in the resurfacing device and I had to have a revision 8 weeks later, but I would still recommend that anyone try resurfacing where indicated. I don't regret trying it at all. In fact, a friend is scheduled for a resurfacing in May.

[stevebf1118]

I am 4 years post BHR, a hard core cyclist, and part of a teaching hospital study with annual blood tests to measure cobalt and chromium ion levels which have since year one been nearly double the norm.  Not altogether unexpected after tens of thousands of pedal strokes but to this point asymptomatic.  My surgeon, Dr. Robert Barrack, Washington University Department of Ortho Reconstructive Surgery, and his clinical assistant, monitor the numbers and are in regular contact to discuss any new clinical findings or inquire about my overall health.  Like a previous poster I chose not to live in fear and accept whatever consequences there may be with my decision to have the corrective surgery and remain very active.  I am 60 years old and stronger and more fit than most men half my age, or so my PCP tells me,  something that would have been completely impossible without the resurface.  I haven't a single regret, let come what may.   

[Boomer]

Outstanding post! Agree with your approach. Have the surgery, or surgeries, finish your rehab and get on with your active life. No time or energy to worry about anything but getting back everything we lost on the descent.

No regrets.

Boomer

[Tberry04]

Following all these interesting articles....Anyone out there have Cobalt poisoning? I just had another revision from Cobalt poisoning (600 percent levels). Many of the muscles in the joint stopped working, which affected my back with the Psoas muscle. Many unique symptoms, and healing. I'm trying to find out if folks had the same slow healing and what they learned?

[Debcoco]

Hi,

A member, Two4One has been suffering with a nickel allergy and has provided a lot of info. Here is how you can find her most recent posts on this subject:  Do a search on members or type in Two4One.  When it comes up, look at the top, left hand side for Profile Info and then select Show Posts.

Good luck,
deb

[Tim Bratten]

Going back to the OP: follow the link to the Lancet article to see what really happened. The patient had a metal on plastic THR used to replace a broken ceramic on ceramic implant. The doctors think that left over ceramic particles in the hip chewed the huge hole they found in the the chromium/cobalt ball (check out the picture, it's unbelievable). The metal worn out of that hole is what caused the patient's chromium/cobalt levels to be on the order of 1000 times above normal. Certainly a bizarre case, and a good example of De Smet's tenet that "anything can happen in medicine" but not any reason to lose sleep at night over your HR.

PS: (I added this part later on, because I saw there were, in fact, two cases). In the other case (from the New England Journal of Medicine) the woman involved had both hips replaced with a Depuy ASR total hip and had chromium/cobalt readings almost 300 times normal. IMHO it's a damn shame (at least in retrospect) it took the medical system so long to discover and respond to this woman's  problem. The patient had been informed early on about the recall of the ASR, yet it was almost two years and three heart surgeries, before anyone took the trouble to carry out a blood/metal test. The article points blame at Depuy (at first the company did not recommend this kind of testing) but I also wonder about the doctors involved. The problems of metalosis were certainly not unknown at the time, so either there was some serious breakdown in communication or else the doctors involved were not looking at an obvious possibilty (a women with two faulty MOM THRs). It's ironic that the article concludes by attacking all MOM implants, especially in light of the first case (a broken ceramic on ceramic followed by a failed metal on plastic).

Cheers
Tim