A study of soft tissue interface in implant removal cases

To study the soft tissue interface in implant removal cases.

Present study was carried out in Department of Orthopaedics of a medical college and attached tertiary care hospital during the period from August 2014 to August 2016. The study consisted of 104 indoor patients who came for implant removal either voluntarily or were advised implants removal. The metallic implant were examined for any deformation and also for evidence of corrosion at the time of implant removal. A note was made about the condition of the implant and the surrounding tissues. The interface tissue was separated from the parent bone and examined in relation to colour. It was sent for histopathology.

Patients were studied with special reference to clinical, radiological and histopathological findings undergoing implant removal. Pain was the main cause of implant removal in our study. Pain at the site of implant could be allergic reaction which subsided on implant removal. Pain for prolonged period indicates presence of chronic inflammatory reaction at implant site. Implant corrosion was more on implant failure cases followed by case involved with infections. Fibrosis was seen in every removal case denoting it as a universal phenomenon. Commonest metallurgical cause attributable to implant breakage was corrosion.

When clinico-radiological and histo-pathological factors coincide then implant failure shows a cumulative relation. Corrosion and degradation of the implants in the body is one of the major issues resulting in the failure of biomedical devices. The degradation process may decrease the structural integrity of the implant, and the release of degradation products may elicit an adverse biological reaction in the host which was clinically evident as chronic pain, biomechanical failure of implant, infection and possibly non-union of the fractures.