I received 2 hip replacements and then developed cobalt & chromium.

Thanks for the suggestion, @johnbishop

Hi @jcmoffat,

I moved your message and combined it with this existing discussion about high chromium levels so that you can meet a few other members who have also discussed similar issues. I hope @janneg @marysapp @edithmiller and @tubetweak will return to share their insights with you.
If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet, and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences.

In the United States, from what I've read, patients who've had hip replacement surgery (which can result in such high metal levels), may report their concerns to the FDA by filling out a form. @jcmoffat, have you contacted the surgeon and/or your care team that performed the knee replacement? Are you experiencing any symptoms?

Thank you so very much for caring. I appreciate all of your help!

I had 2 hips done also, Smith & Nephue was the brand & I have had all kinds of problems from horable pain to heart & thyroid problems, as well as depression & cloudy thinking. Come to find out my blood Cobalt level is 8.1-None of my doctors seem to know anything about systemic problems due to cobalt poisoning.

Is it certain devices or are all hip and knee replacement devices have the potential for these side effects?

Here is what I experienced. In 2006, I had 2 hip implants of a new and supposedly longer,lasting type, recommended because I was young and they were supposed to last a lot longer. They were all metal, with the ball and liner made of a chromium and cobalt alloy, shaft usually titanium, acetabular cup another metal - supposed to be stronger. Typical implants had a metal shaft and cup, with a head of metal or ceramic, and a liner of some kind of plastic.

Unfortunately, for many people, if head (ball) and cup were not perfectly sized and aligned, the two wear between the parts caused metal shavings to be deposited in surrounding tissue, leading to heavy metal poisoning, tissue breakdown, and sometimes rejection.

They were marketed in the US and Europe by DePuy, Johnson & Johnson, Smith & Nephew, maybe others from the late 1990's to about 2008.

My cousin & I both had these implants in 2006, hers was problematic immediately and she has been living without a joint since 2009. Mine were replaced in 2011, and it took me over 2 years to get my thyroid, metallosis and tissue damage resolved, I still have heart rate issues today.

The implants are now off the market, but I have learned to ask more questions!
Sue

When my husband's cobalt hit 12 the surgeon insisted on a hip revision last March. The biggest indicator though was through X-rays which showed bone deterioration. In the surgery the doc said he could put his finger through the femur it was that bad. Now healing , the replacement bone is adhering to the new hip and he is building up the strength to hopefully get back on the tennis court. Good luck but check X-rays.

@debra145 @sueinmn @ltsally I have had some issues with titanium plates and screws that were placed on my ankle because of a fracture last year. I have allergic asthma which got worse with a lot of phlegm and breathing issues, and I had joint pain and chronic hives. I just got my hardware removed and I got better immediately. This is an example of a fixed implant that does not move, so there is no wear debris deposited in tissues. It is just that this metal is present. Titanium is used because it is supposed to be inert in the body, but it is an alloy which means there are some other metals mixed in to improve the implant. It could be those trace metals that cause the problem. My surgeon for my ankle fracture surgery told me that about 20% of patients choose to have their fixation hardware removed.

I know it isn't always possible to have implanted hardware removed or revised. There are some doctors who treat these problems. I wanted to share some information about the field of Environmental Medicine and the practice that pioneered this field which is in Texas, north of Dallas. They do treat patients for immune issues with implants, and they sell books, and books specific for doctors about their research. They are call the Environmental Health Center of Dallas, but just moved to another location. Their website has lots of other information to explore. Here is their page on implant syndrome.

If you need to test for immune responses to materials in implants, this lab in Chicago does blood tests for specific materials.

Another resource is the American Academy of Environmental Medicine and you can find a provider search button on their website at https://www.aaemonline.org/

I have been a patient of an environmental medicine doctor for many years and have benefited a lot. I am a patient who is sensitive to things. Patients can also have immune responses to dental implants and those can be made from titanium, but there is a safer choice with Zirconium implants and crowns and bridges also carved from Zirconium which is a ceramic material. Even the screws that connect the crown to the implant are made of Zirconium. There is no metal. I have just gone through this process of Zirconium implants, and received my new teeth 3 months ago and everything is fine.

I agree with Sue. Ask lots of questions! testing for metal sensitivities before going through a surgery may help, but it may also tell you that you have no sensitivity, and later on, because of exposure to the material in the body, an immune problem develops.

Im 11 weeks post op TKR. I had an issue start at about 4 or 5 weeks post op. I started out patient PT at 2 weeks post op.
The entire upper portion of my knee halfway of the knee cap up to the end of my incision, became sore and started getting puffy red purple and felt like a blister all the time. A bit more swelling from that point up as well. I have mentioned to my surgeon my PT and they all said this can happen. I have done as instructed, message several times a day. I have zero problems with the joint. However the bend is restricted by this incision issue, when I bend my knee the puffy incision restricts with great tightness in the skin across the entire knee mid way up. In the evening the incision has fluid pockets below the surface. By morning this has dissipated. After I ice and get up to move around its not 10 min I feel slight discomfort and swelling in the upper knee.
I have researched and I have concluded this is hypertrophic scarring (my take). Ive read this can be caused by a few things. I also read a dermatologist has several methods of resolving the issue.
I plan to call my dermatologist tomorrow Monday and see if she will see me on this issue (with my only being 11 or 12 weeks post op I dont know if she will).
Any thoughts or knowledge on this matter will be so appreciated.
Photos are P.M. and 1 A.M. the ones showing fluid pockets are p.m. and all but 1 the last one is a.m.

@suziet Did your surgeon advise you to wait longer until more healing of the incision has occurred before doing treatment? I have been through spinal fusion surgery on my neck, and incisions create scar tissue as you know, and also scar tissue in the fascial layers. I had to wait until 3 months before I could do physical therapy on my spine surgery scar, and that was also waiting for the fusion process to begin so it would not be disturbed. Sometimes healing is a long process and we just have to be patient.

Myofascial release can help treat scar tissue. My guess is right now, you have so much fluid in the tissue that it is being forced into your scar. As you heal further, hopefully the tissue fluids will lessen. Here is our discussion. MFR has helped me quite a bit and it can reduce tightness and get the body moving better. The first pages of the discussion have a lot of links.

Have you heard of MFR before? Does it sound like something you may want to try?

This was posted some time ago, but I am contemplating hip and knee surgery (both give me a lot of pain), and these things you are discussing frighten me. One big reason is that every time I have seen an orthopedic surgeon, they hurry me out of the office, maybe showing me an x-ray, tellilng me nothing more than "You need a hip (or knee) replacement."