Metal on metal bearings are used especially in hip resurfacing. On the one hand, small bone preserving implants can be used. On the other hand recent studies found a variety of local and systemic side effects, for instance the appearance of pseudotumors, that are explained by pathologic biological reaction of the metal wear debris. The detailed mechanisms are still not understood until now. Thus it was the aim of this study to investigate the local reaction of metal wear particles and metal ions in a murine model. The hypothesis was that mainly metal ions provoke adverse histopathological reactions in vivo. Three groups, each with 10 Balb / c mice were generated. Group A: injection of a 50 µl metal ion suspension at a concentration of 200 µg / l in the left knee. Group B: injection of a 50 µl 0,1 vol% metal particle suspension into the left knee joint. Group C (control group): injection of a 50 µl of 0,1 vol% PBS-suspension in the left knee. Incubation for 7 days, followed by euthanasia of the animals by intracardiac pentobarbital. The left and right knee, the lungs, kidneys, liver and spleen were removed. Histologic paraffin sections in 2 microns thickness were made, followed by HE (overview staining) and Movat (Pentachrom staining) staining. The histologic analysis was a done by a light microscopic evaluation of the subdivided visual fields at 200× magnification.Introduction
Material and Methods
