Early Failures of Total Knee Patients with Nickel Allergies Secondary to Carbon Fiber Debris

Background: Patients can experience multiple issues following a primary Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). A growing body of research is finding a correlation between primary TKA failure and metal hypersensitivity, most commonly with nickel and cobalt. Because of this, knee prosthetics are being made from hypoallergenic metals, such as zirconium nitride (ZrN), to minimize the number of failures due to metal allergy. Given the relatively new development of the hypoallergenic prostheses, there is sparse data about their overall success.