Tantalum Coated Implants – Strong, Compatible and Durable

Tantalum is a hard, grayish blue metal. Its importance in the field of orthopedics comes from the fact that tantalum coated implants have several properties that can be used to enhance the quality of the implants used in hip replacement.

Implants used in joint replacements are prone for rejection by the body. Artificial replacement implants such as those used in hip replacements are so designed that the material used in these implants are compatible with the body tissues. This property of an implant is called biocompatibility. A tantalum coated implant has a pinhole free surface, which increases the biocompatibility of the implant. Tantalum can be used in coating the implant surface of most of the materials used in hip implants such as stainless steel, ceramic, cobalt chromium and titanium alloys.

X-ray marking is done to ascertain the position of implants in the body following hip replacements and to check the formation of new bone growth. Tantalum coating of implants improves the x-ray marking of implants. Ones made of titanium, stainless steel and ceramic can be coated with tantalum for x-ray marking.

Implants come under a high degree of stress with increased activity of the patient. This can cause metal fatigue leading to weakness of the implant. A weakened implant is a cause for failure of the hip replacement. In fact, increased activity as seen in younger individuals with hip replacements is directly related to failure of implants. Tantalum coating offers the advantage of increasing the strength of the metal-coated implant by as much as 60%. For these reasons, metal coating with tantalum is beneficial in younger, more active patients.

Also see; hip replacement procedure.

About The Author:

Dr. Bharat Sharma is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.hip-replacement-care.com. He has been working in the medical rehab field for more than a decade. Keeping up to date with techological advancements he has become a self appointe