HealthDay reports that “newer, metal-on-metal implants seem to be no more effective than older implants and may sometimes even be more problematic,” according to a study published in BMJ. Lead researcher Dr. Art Sedrakyan noted that “there is some evidence from three large national registries that higher rates of replacement surgery are associated with metal-on-metal implants, compared with metal-on-polyethylene implants.” But “the bottom line for Sedrakyan is that there is not enough information about these devices to really tell if one type is better or safer than another.”
Sedrakyan and colleagues worked with the Food and Drug Administration “to review the comparative safety and effectiveness of different types of bearing surfaces for hip implants,” MedPage Today reports.
“In the three largest registries — from Australia, New Zealand, and England and Wales — revision rates were higher with metal-on-metal implants compared with metal-on-polyethylene” and “three smaller registries — including one from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — showed no such difference.”