The imaging appearances of metallosis

Abstract

Metallosis is an uncommon condition in which there is infiltration of periprosthetic soft tissues and bone by metallic debris resulting from wear of joint arthroplasties. It is often associated with significant osteolysis; therefore the identification of metallosis is an indication for revision arthroplasty. The radiographic, CT and MRI features of metallosis in a 63-year-old man who presented 16 years post-arthroplasty are described in this case report.

Reconstruction of massive uncontained glenoid defects using a combined autograft-allograft construct with reverse shoulder arthroplasty: preliminary results

“…30 It is difficult to secure cancellous impaction grafting, even when a Prolene mesh (Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) is used. This technique also necessitates 2 surgical procedures, a drawback that we have specifically avoided with our technique.…”

Severe Metallosis after Total Elbow Arthroplasty—A Case Report

“…Moreover, it can resemble heterotopic ossification [11]. A more consistent but less specific radiographic finding in patients with histologically proven metallosis is osteolysis around the prosthetic components [5,7,8]. In our patient, manifestations of PE wear with subsequent titling of the ulnar component, radiolucent zone around the humeral component, and cement mantle fracture were noted.…”

Radiographically Undetectable Periprosthetic Osteolysis With ASR Implants

“…In some cases periprosthetic metallosis can be diagnosed through specific radiographic signs referred in literature as bubble sign or cloud sign [27,29,30]. Nevertheless these signs refer to metal wear debris deposition in periprosthetic soft tissues and joint cavity and not to bone osteolytic cavity.…”

“…Metallosis is known to be often associated with significant osteolysis [26,27]. However, metallic debris seems to compensate for the radiolucency resulting from bony destruction and may compromise preoperative diagnosis of osteolysis.…”