When the television show, The Bionic Man, premiered, many people viewed it as futuristic, even impossible and unrealistic. However with the advances made in modern medicine, replacement of damaged body parts is very much reality. Artificial joints and heart valves bring new life and quality of life to persons who early this century had no reason to hope for a future. Today, orthopedic surgeons, like Dr. Allen Lang at McFarland Clinic, replace hip and knee joints on a regular basis. These medical engineering marvels can have their risks as well.
Bacteria find a home beside the plastic or metal implant.
They attach themselves and are nourished by adjacent blood and body fluids. The result is damage to the artificial implant and loosening of the surgical attachments between the patient and the implant. In the case of an artificial implant, the infection starts to grow on the plastic or metal surface. It is not easily controlled because there is no direct blood supply to the implant for the delivery of antibiotics or infection-fighting white blood cells. Prevention is the best medicine Persons who have artificial implants are at greatest risk for infection in an implant area during the first two years following the surgery.