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Head of Laboratory: dr. Ingrid Milosev Research programme
Wear of metal and polyethylene implants and related tissue reactions Aseptic loosening of orthopaedic implants, total hip and knee replacement, is the major limiting factor which determines the life time of implanted prosthesis. It progressively degrades the functioning of the implant, eventually resulting in the increasing pain and function limitation thus leading to a repeated surgical intervention on the patient. The release wear debris originating from articulating metal and polymer surfaces, their accumulation in periprosthetic tissue and consequent biological reaction, are emphasized as the main factor in the process of loosening. Procedures for isolation of micro- and nanometer sized wear particles from periprosthetic tissue are developed and the particle morphology studied by microscopic techniques. Polyethylene particles isolated from periprosthetic tissue (a) and histological image showing birefringent polyethylene particles (b) |
