Silver-coated megaendoprostheses in a rabbit model—an analysis of the infection rate and toxicological side effects

Deep infection of megaprostheses remains a serious complication in orthopedic tumor surgery. Despite the use of systemic and local antibiotic prophylaxis the reported infection rate is between 5% and 35%. Silver-coated medical devices proved their effectiveness in reducing infections. The objective of this study was to examine in vivo the antimicrobial efficacy and possible side-effects of a silver-coated megaprosthesis. In a first study, 30 rabbits (15 titanium versus 15 silver-coated Mutars ®—endoprostheses) were infected with Staphylococcus aureus. In a second study, toxicological side effects were analyzed in 10 rabbits with a silver-coated megaprosthesis. The silver group showed significantly ( p