Effect of gold coating on implant fixation
The authors refer to endoprostheses being “a common end-stage treatment for degenerative joint diseases” and to the trend “that more and more younger patients receive” it. Up to 20% of all total hip replacements are said to be revisions, and “revision implants have an even shorter longevity and poorer functional outcome”. The authors highlight that insertions of orthopedic implants such as endoprostheses “are traumatic procedures that trigger an inflammatory response”, and that “macrophages have been shown to liberate gold ions from metallic gold. Gold ions are known to act in an anti-inflammatory manner.” The authors’ study is therefore targeted at increased early implant fixation and increased implant longevity and investigates the gold coating of endoprostheses.
The findings demonstrate that complete gilding of implants negatively affects mechanical strength and osseointegration because of a significant effect of the released gold ions on the local inflammatory process around the implant. The authors therefore suggest that a “dosage-response study is needed in order to establish the exact amount of gold dotted on the implant surface that will have no influence on the fixation, but endow the implant with a permanent inflammatory suppressing quality”.
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