Today, bone replacements are made of titanium. This metal is stronger than most, difficult to damage and really does not corrode. It is a perfect substitute for that blown out knee cap or degraded hip bone. Medical advancements, however are not done yet.

I found this article that shows that stem cell research is making it possible for a bone to be recreated in the exact shape of the damaged joint and can be surgically replaced in a human. Although the technology is in it's infancy, it is still a promising course of action. After all, there is virtually no rejection for real bone in a real body. If the individual's DNA can be admitted into the stem cells then the bone will belong to the recipient. The idea is that a type of x-ray machine will take an image of an undamaged bone, so if the right knee is gone, the left one will be imaged. Then the software will create a mirror image of the bone, and using something quite similar to machinist technology, will shape the replacement bone out of the bone that was created from the stem cells.

So, although bones are currently made of metal which will cause you to set off every metal detector between here and your destination, soon, some projections are that, within a decade, individuals will be able to have this option available to them.

Isn't that just neat?

Hi @couponchic! There are many designs of knee or hip implants or replacement materials that is available for the orthopedic surgeons. Every surgeon has the discretion to select what he deems would be best or on what he was trained to use.

Metal parts of the implant are are made of Cobalt-chrome or Titanium. There is a universal agreement that it would be better if the metal part that move on the plastic is made of cobalt chrome. One major problem of replacement bones is the issue of metal and plastic wear. This can happen since parts move on each other and produced tiny particles because of the said wear and tear. These can in turn cause adverse response in the surrounding tissues and bone which make the implant loosen. The greats amount of particles is produced by a titanium metal part that moves against a plastic part.

The plastic part of the implant are made of high-density polyethylene which has proved to be most acceptable over the years.

The good news is that the field of orthopedics is constantly evolving especially when it comes to researching on the new products that can be used for body parts specifically for hip and knee replacements. These materials are ceramic on ceramic surfaces, metal on metal surfaces, and highly cross-linked polyethylene. The newer bio-material can reduce about 99% of the wear and tear enhancing the life of the hip or knee.