'This may be because they wear cheap jewellery which is made from nickel,' he says. That's because patients get 'sensitised' to react to a certain metal and women are more at risk of this than men, adds Mr Hart. People who get a nickel rash when they wear watches are more at risk of reacting to their implant, says Mr Chana. However, some implants contain separate parts made from different materials that can corrode and then cause hypersensitivity: the worst combination is when there is a titanium part next to a cobaltchromium part - found in some hip replacements. But, according to research, those made of nickel, cobalt and chromium are most likely to elicit a reaction titanium is better tolerated by the body. 'I have seen patients who have experienced a delayed hypersensitivity reaction and rejected an implant after eight years of having it in,' adds Alister Hart, a consultant hip and knee surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. 'Some patients are very sensitive to small amounts of metal.' People have a 'spectrum of responses depending on their sensitivity,' adds Mr Chana. In some cases, such as Pat's, the reaction and subsequent pain is so intense it can ultimately end in the implant having to be removed. 'Because these are so vague, often the problem with the implant is not immediately identified.' 'Symptoms of hypersensitivity include pain around the joint and itchy skin - not necessarily at the site of the implant,' says Rishi Chana, a hip and knee joint replacement specialist at Ashford & St Peter's NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey Orthopaedic Clinic. With hypersensitivity, different immune cells launch an attack, triggering inflammation.Īnd whereas an allergic response would be immediate, hypersensitivity can cause problems years after the implant is fitted. It differs from allergic reactions, as cells released as part of an allergic reaction are not involved in implant rejection. Hypersensitivity can occur when the body starts to view the metal implant as a foreign body and the immune system attacks it. In fact, any metal implant or device - be it a spinal cord stimulator, as Pat had, dental implant to take the place of lost teeth, or hip and knee replacement - can potentially lead to a hypersensitivity reaction.Įven pacemakers can, in theory, be affected - although few cases have been recorded. 'No one had ever mentioned that this was a possibility,' says Pat, a mother-of-two and grandmother-of-five. 'I had gone all that time using the stimulator with reasonable success, but suddenly the thing that was meant to help me actually left me with even more pain. Yet in September 2015, after repeated hospital visits, Pat was told her body was in effect rejecting the implant, and she needed surgery to take it out. Pat went back to hospital, but her consultant initially could not figure out exactly what was happening. 'I started to feel really rundown and hot all the time and the terrible pain returned.' 'I could always feel the implant under the skin, but two years after having it put in, the area became tender and sore,' recalls Pat, who lives with husband Gerry, 77. There, it emitted electrical currents that worked by interrupting the irregular nerve signals to the brain that sometimes cause chronic back pain.Īnd it seemed to work - for the first time in years Pat was virtually pain free.īut last year, just over two years after she had the implant fitted, the 72-year-old from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was back in hospital having it removed - not because it didn't work, but because her body had started to reject it. The device was inserted under the skin at the bottom of her spine. 'But nothing helped and the pain was making me low - I hoped finally this would work.' 'I was at a point where I'd tried everything, including cold packs from the freezer to acupuncture and various injections,' she says. The retired secretary had tried numerous treatments over the years, but with the pain now impinging on her mobility, she was keen to try anything. After years of back pain, Pat Taylor thought a high-tech implant would finally bring relief.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |