Knee materials and DuPuy

Menelfloss

new member
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Messages
16
Age
68
Location
MN
Country
United States United States
Gender
Male
Hello,
My new knee is scheduled for Jan 15. I am allergic to nickel. I was told my surgeon is using a DuPuy knee. Should I have any concerns?

Also I noticed some legal litigation against the DuPuy Attune knee. I am assuming that these may be a very small amount of the total Attune Knees implanted.
Thoughts?
 
Have you told your surgeon you are allergic to nickel, @Menelfloss ?
Have you discussed the choice of replacement hardware with him/her?

I'm going to ask @Josephine to advise you.
 
I have the DuPuy Attune knee. So far, so good. When I asked my surgeon about my mild nickel allergy, he sent me to be tested by an allergist; negative (except for gold), so I went ahead with the surgery. An allergy blood test, or an allergist visit, is a sensible precaution.

Every knee implant has litigation against it alleging defects and failure. These types of lawsuits have a high ceiling for damages and are attractive to law firms.

Josephine will surely be able to tell you more!
 
Yes, It has been in my chart for a long time. When I brought it up today the assistant said perhaps I should have myself allergy tested to make sure. Can't get an appt. with an allergist before Jan 10. Hope this does not change my surgery date....
 
Perhaps?
No two ways about it. You should get tested and if that testing delays your surgery, it's much better to do that than to have a knee replacement inserted to which you are allergic.

Have the blood testing, because the skin testing is not accurate enough for this.
 
Yes, I would too.
I am allergic to nickel. Should I have any concerns?
Maybe, maybe not. But get yourself tested anyway. As a matter of interest, you said it was in your chart 'for a long time'. When was that exactly and for what reason?

Also I noticed some legal litigation against the DuPuy Attune knee.
Well, that's a bit vague actually. There might be any number of reasons why patients make a case against a company like that. Numerous in fact. But the Attune is still one of the most reliable knees on the market and has a really good history.
 
Probably better to talk to your doc and get tested. I haven't been able to wear earrings for years, presumably due to nickel content (though I haven't been tested), and I'm not sure what alloy is in my knees (not Depuy--different brands for each knee) but I haven't had any trouble.
 
Thanks you guys for the responses. I found research on this subject shows that it is rare for implants to cause any problems from an allergy standpoint:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4726476/
I could not get a dermatology or Allergy appointment in time to do the testing before surgery. Fortunately my friend and neighbor is a specialist in contact dermatitis and will be able to test me well before surgery. I'll post a follow up. I am happy to get an Attune knee.
 
Nice article - thanks!
 
Turns out that I am pretty darn allergic to nickel. the skin test blistered. Cobalt and chromium were negative. Will share this with the surgeon. Wondering if they will recommend a titanium knee. Anybody know if titanium lasts as long as chromium/cobalt?
 
They all last as long as each other. So no need to worry about that aspect of it.
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,181
Messages
1,597,064
BoneSmarties
39,365
Latest member
Dave4562
Recent bookmarks
0

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom