MAUI, HAWAII – Rheumatologists and other providers need to ask patients if they’ve had metal-on-metal hip implants.
That goes for hip resurfacing – which by definition is metal on metal – as well as actual metal-on-metal hips. Signs of trouble can be as subtle as mental status changes, and they go well beyond the traditional issues with worn-out artificial joints.
During a video interview at the 2015 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium, Dr. Bill Bugbee, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the University of California, San Diego, explained the problems and the warning signs for which physicians should watch.