By Laura Dyrda
The Spine Journal accepted a new study based on in-vitro research titled “Does Impaction of Titanium-Coated Interbody Fusion Cages into the Disc Space Cause Wear Debris and/or Delamination?”
The study subjected spine devices to a simulated biomechanical impaction process into the disc space, showing 26 percent of the teeth on titanium-coated PEEK implants lost coating material ranging from one micron to 191 microns.
The study’s author, Professor Hans-Joachim Wilke, PhD, found more than half the particles were a size range that allows for phagocytosis, an osteolytic process that occurs when macrophage cells are unable to safely digest foreign material.
I have read this story and I’d like to comment on it a bit. I’ve spent much time exploring the differences between titanium and PEEK implants and I’m sure that the latter will last longer in all the cases, be it a spinnal implant, a cranial implant or any other implant at all. I’ve come across
the website http://medcad.net/. The company manufactures PEEK implants based on the individual requirements of their patients. Accordigng to their observations and numerous studies, PEEK implants can help solve lots of problems. They are specially modeled to fit the sizes and shapes of the plates used for performing cranioplasty surgeries. These implants are developed with regard to the specific anatomic features of a patient. They are much more durable, convenient and safe as compared to titanium implants.