Hip replacement implants all work the same regardless of the material used, according to a new study.

The newer, metal-on-metal implants appear to be no more effective than older implants and may sometimes even be more problematic, the researchers said, according to HealthDay News.

“Metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic hip implants might not be associated with any advantage, compared with traditional bearings such as metal-on-polyethylene or ceramic-on-polyethylene,” lead researcher Dr. Art Sedrakyan, director of the Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, told HealthDay.

While there is some evidence from three large national registries that higher rates of replacement surgery are associated with metal-on-metal implants, compared with metal-on-polyethylene implants, there is simply not enough information about these implants to determine if one type is better or safer than the other, Sedrakyan continued. Even for newer implants such as metal-on-metal or ceramic-on-ceramic bearings, their advantage over traditional implants is not clear, he told HealthDay.

via Hip Replacement Devices are All the Same, Study Says | ThirdAge.