Arthritis Health Center

Artificial Hips: Newer Might Not Be Better

Conclusion: ‘More Study Needed’

The three largest national surgical registries showed evidence of higher rates of early implant failure associated with metal-on-metal devices, compared to metal-on-polyethylene implants.

One study showed fewer repeat surgeries for device failure for ceramic-on-ceramic implants, but the national registries data did not support this finding.

Sedrakyan tells WebMD that larger studies with longer follow-up times will be needed to determine the differences between the various devices.

Jacobs says the fact that the researchers had to consider all metal-on-metal, ceramic-on-ceramic, and polyethylene-containing devices together limited the findings.

“By necessity, this analysis was done by class, but it is important to recognize that within these broader classes some devices are performing better than others,” he says.