Lubricant used in hip replacement surgery actually bears more resemblance to a combustion engine than it does to the natural fluid surrounding joints. According to Medical News, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Arthritis and musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases investigated the lubricant and discovered that graphite carbon is one of the main elements of the lubricant.
The discovery reflects the fact that most hip replacements have become metal-on-metal implants in recent years because the metal bearing surfaces experience longer life spans than the combination metal-and-polythene hip replacements previously used in the 1990s.
But metal joints have issues as well, said lead investigator Joshua Jacobs.
“We know there are metal-on-metal systems that have not performed well,” Jacobs said. “Problematic devices have tended to release more metal debris through wear and corrosion than devices that have performed well.”
He explained that such unwanted debris in the body can cause issues to the surrounding tissues, bone, ligaments, tendons and muscles.
The news that graphite is a key component in hip replacement lubricant, then, is concerning to researchers. However, researcher Laurence Marks said that knowing what they were dealing with would help medical device makers improve hip replacements in the future.
