Osteolysis

Osteolysis refers to dissolution or degeneration of bonetissue through disease.

It is a problem common to artificial implants.

In total hip replacement, the particles worn off the gliding surface of the ball and socket jointoften cause osteolysis. As the body attempts to clean up these loose particles of plastic or metal, the bone grows away from the implant, causing it to loosen. This may require a revision surgery(replacement parts).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteolysis Wikipedia article Osteolysis.