Novel Highly Porous Metal Technology in Artificial Hip and Knee Replacement: Processing Methodologies and Clinical Applications

Hip and knee replacement can dramatically improve a patient's quality of life through pain relief and restored function. Fixation of hip and knee replacement implants to bone is critical to the success of the procedure. A variety of roughened surfaces and three-dimensional porous surfaces have been used to enhance biological fixation on orthopedic implants. Recently, highly porous metals have emerged as versatile biomaterials that may enhance fixation to bone and are suitable to a number of applications in hip and knee replacement surgery. This article provides an overview of several processes used to create these implant surfaces.