Effect of titanium maxillofacial implants and osteosynthesis materials on platelet function

The use of titanium implants and osteosynthesis materials in orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and maxillofacial surgery has increased considerably, and they may be retained in patients for a long time. We could find no papers in English that provided data about the effect of titanium osteosynthesis materials on platelet function, and the purpose of this study was to evaluate those effects. Platelet function was tested in 33 patients with titanium maxillofacial implants using the PFA-100 (platelet function analyser) system and these results were compared with those of a control group of 34 healthy volunteer blood donors. Platelet function was measured in each group using collagen/adrenaline and collagen/adenosine diphosphate (ADP) as agonists for assessment of platelet function. There were no significant differences between the groups (collagen/adrenaline p=0.1, collagen/ADP p=0.09). Titanium maxillofacial osteosynthesis materials have no significant effect on platelet function as assessed by the PFA-100 system.