Biomaterial vaccines to make implanted orthopedic devices safer, reveals study

Patients with implanted medical devices like orthopedic joint replacements, pacemakers , and artificial heart valves run a small but significant risk that these devices get infected with bacterial pathogens. This starts them on a burdensome path requiring “redo” (revision) surgeries, prolonged antibiotic treatments, or in severe cases amputation. If the infections spread in patients’ bodies, they can even become fatal.

“In the U.S. alone, about 790,000 total knee replacements and more than 450,000 hip replacements are currently performed by orthopedic surgeons , and up to 2 to 4% of those implanted devices will become infected,” said Alexander Tatara, M.D., Ph.D., an Assistant Professor at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and first-author of a new study th