Embedded Particulate Contaminants in Textured Metal Implant Surfaces

Five retrieved implants were examined for the presence of surface contaminants using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), backscattered electron imaging (BEI), and X-ray microanalysis (XRM). Three of the five implants, representing both Ti alloy and Co--Cr alloy devices, exhibited extensive surface inclusions consisting of Si and/or Al-containing material. The remaining two implants contained small amounts of these materials. Evidence of the same contaminants was found in soft tissue samples adjacent to several of the implants. Varying amounts of these same inclusions were also found in a variety of new (nonimplanted) devices similarly examined in a related study.