Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Codger
Please, if someone knows that titanium does not produce the same ozidizing/allergic process as the other metals, please direct me to that information. I have read that even gold and platinium produces an ozidized ion, just slower than most, and so can be allergic, also.
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Titanium is actually more chemically reactive than chromium and nickel. I can't talk about the allergenic reaction(s) being a metallurgist, not a doctor. Platinum and gold, under most circumstances, aren't reactive and will not form ions. I don't know enough about how the chemical environment inside your body would change that but, in general, those two are only oxidized in environments that would kill you before the metal was attacked.
It doesn't matter, though, if the metallic surfaces are oxides or unoxidized metal; if you're allergic to the metal or one of the components of the alloy, you'll react. The worst case for this, of course, would be if your body metabolized the ions or carried wear particles away from the surgery site. If that happens, your allergic reaction would become increasingly widespread and not localized to the implant. Even if you got the implant replaced, you'd still have lots of stuff floating around to deal with. Fortunately, the alloys used don't do this a whole lot but there's increasing suggestion that even small amounts can cause problems.