Following the Stryker hip replacement recall in July, 2012, more questions have arisen regarding the formation of pseudotumors, metal poisoning and chromium and cobalt toxicity. Hip implant problems have rapidly become the rule rather than the exception, particularly among those with all-metal implants or implants such as the Rejuvenate and ABG II which have metal components. Research has indicated that pseudotumors are also much more likely among those with hip implants which contain chromium or cobalt. In one analysis, the only significant predictor for pseudotumors was serum cobalt levels above 5 µ/ml; patients with elevated cobalt levels were four times more likely to develop pseudotumors than those with lower levels after adjusting for age, gender, allergies and other factors.

Stryker Orthopedics recalled two of their metal hip implants just this past July after issuing an Urgent Safety Alert to physicians and hospitals a few months earlier, in April of 2012. While this safety alert mentions the potential hazards of “excessive metal debris and/or ion generation…fretting and/or corrosion at the modular neck junction,” it fails to mention the possibility of pseudo tumors in those who have received a metal hip implant.