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Implant (medicine)

 

 
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Implant (medicine)
 
 
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An implant is a medical device
Medical device

A medical device is an object which is useful for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Examples of medical devices include medical thermometers, blood glucose monitorings, and X-ray machines....
 made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant
Organ transplant

Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site....
, which indicates transplanted biomedical tissue
Biomedical tissue

Biomedical tissue is Tissue used for organ transplantation and medical research, particularly cancer research.Such tissues and organs may be referred to as: implant tissue, allograft, xenograft, skin graft tissue, human transplant tissue, implant bone....
). The surface of implants that contact the body might be made of a biomedical material such as titanium, silicone or apatite
Apatite

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of Hydroxyl−, Fluorine−, or Chlorine− ions, respectively, in the crystal....
 depending on what is the most functional. In some cases implants contain electronics e.g. artificial pacemaker
Artificial pacemaker

A pacemaker is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart....
 and cochlear implant
Cochlear implant

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is Hearing impairment#Quantification of hearing loss....
s. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stent
Drug-eluting stent

A 'drug-eluting stent' is a coronary stent placed into narrowed, diseased coronary artery that slowly releases a drug to block Hyperplasia....
s.

In orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery

Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and non-surgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital conditions....
, implants may refer to devices that are placed over or within bones to hold a fracture reduction
Reduction (orthopedic surgery)

Reduction is a medical procedure to restore a Fracture or Dislocation to the correct alignment. When a bone fractures, the fragments lose their alignment in the form of Displacement or angulation....
 while prosthesis
Prosthesis

In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of fusing mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control lost by trauma, disease, or defect....
 would be the more appropriate term for devices that replace a part or whole of a defunct joint.






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An implant is a medical device
Medical device

A medical device is an object which is useful for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Examples of medical devices include medical thermometers, blood glucose monitorings, and X-ray machines....
 made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant
Organ transplant

Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site....
, which indicates transplanted biomedical tissue
Biomedical tissue

Biomedical tissue is Tissue used for organ transplantation and medical research, particularly cancer research.Such tissues and organs may be referred to as: implant tissue, allograft, xenograft, skin graft tissue, human transplant tissue, implant bone....
). The surface of implants that contact the body might be made of a biomedical material such as titanium, silicone or apatite
Apatite

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of Hydroxyl−, Fluorine−, or Chlorine− ions, respectively, in the crystal....
 depending on what is the most functional. In some cases implants contain electronics e.g. artificial pacemaker
Artificial pacemaker

A pacemaker is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart....
 and cochlear implant
Cochlear implant

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is Hearing impairment#Quantification of hearing loss....
s. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stent
Drug-eluting stent

A 'drug-eluting stent' is a coronary stent placed into narrowed, diseased coronary artery that slowly releases a drug to block Hyperplasia....
s.

In orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery

Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and non-surgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital conditions....
, implants may refer to devices that are placed over or within bones to hold a fracture reduction
Reduction (orthopedic surgery)

Reduction is a medical procedure to restore a Fracture or Dislocation to the correct alignment. When a bone fractures, the fragments lose their alignment in the form of Displacement or angulation....
 while prosthesis
Prosthesis

In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of fusing mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control lost by trauma, disease, or defect....
 would be the more appropriate term for devices that replace a part or whole of a defunct joint. In this context implants may be placed within or outside the body. Dental implants are one of the few medical devices which permanently cross the boundary between the inside and the outside of the body, since the base of the implant is osseointegrated
Osseointegration

Osseointegration is the direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load-bearing Implant , typically made of titanium....
 in the bone of the mandible
Mandible

The mandible or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth in place. It also refers to both the upper and lower sections of the beaks of birds....
 or maxilla
Maxilla

The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palate fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible, which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis....
 and the top of the implant is in the mouth, where it can be crowned with an artificial tooth.

A bio-implant may be defined as a biomaterial
Biomaterial

The development of biomaterials is not a new area of science, having existed for around half a century. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterial science....
 surgically implanted in a person's body to replace damaged tissue. Common areas of application include orthopedic (especially maxillofacial) re-constructive prosthesis, cardiac prostheses (artificial heart valves like the Chitra heart valve), skin and cornea
Cornea

The cornea is the transparency front part of the eye that covers the Iris , pupil, and anterior chamber. Together with the cilliary muscles, the cornea reflects light, and as a result helps the eye to dilate, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power....
.

Complications

  • Implant fails to osseointegrate
  • Failure of components to fit properly
  • Implant or its components fracture
  • Peri-implantitis (inflammatory reaction around the implant) and bone loss
  • Prosthetic failure
  • Aesthetics
  • (late deep) Infection
    Infection

    An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....


Failures

There have been many examples of implant failures, including rupture of silicone breast implants, hip replacement
Hip replacement

Hip replacement, also hip arthroplasty, is a surgery procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant . Such joint replacement orthopaedic surgery generally is conducted to relieve arthritis pain or fix severe physical joint damage as part of the hip fracture treatment....
 joints and artificial heart valves, such as the Bjork-Shiley valve
Bjork-Shiley valve

The Bjork-Shiley valve is a mechanical heart valve prosthesis. Beginning in 1971, it has been used to replace the aortic valve or mitral valve valves....
, all of which have caused FDA intervention. The consequences of implant failure depend on the critical nature of the implant, and its position in the body. Thus heart valve failure is likely to threaten the life of the individual, while breast implant or hip joint failure is less likely to be life-threatening.

See also

  • Orthosis
  • Prosthetics in Fiction
    Prosthetics in fiction

    Prosthetics often play a role in fiction, particularly science fiction. Numerous works of literature, television, and movies will feature certain characters who have had prosthetics attached....


Further Reading

  • D.F. Williams, Williams Dictionary of Biomaterials. Liverpool University Press, 1999 ISBN-13: 978-0-85323-734-1; ISBN-10: 0-85323-734-4