When the Inanimate Meets the Biological

Nineteen thirty-six hosted the first orthopaedic joint replacement, a stainless steel arthroplastic hip prosthesis in the stead of native biological tissues. Did the subsequent seventy-four years educate? What does happen when the inanimate meets the biological? With many data purporting joint disease as the leading chronic, disabling condition in the elderly, total joint arthroplasties make sense as they may greatly restore quality of life. But to what extent and for how long? Barry Meier asks these same questions in his recent New York Times column. The read is fascinating. Follow the letter dispatched by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa as it interviews Zimmer Holdings, an orthopaedic device manufacturer, requesting of them data to describe the long term performance of their apparati. There have been vague and circulating whispers of device failure, but no clear consensus. Several surgeons have pointed their steady fingers at Zimmer, but Zimmer has simply pointed back. Follow this thread to learn more and keep your antennae up.