Metallic materials have provided a tremendous advantage in the current treatment of many surgical specialties. Further studies on the long-term effects at both local and distant sites of implantation are essential. As this field continues to expand, the podiatric applications of these new devices will grow exponentially.

Because all metallic implants in the human body will corrode, several recommendations can be made:

1. Beware of placing reactive components in the younger population. These should be followed accordingly because of latent periods of reported tumor findings in these metals.

2. Consideration should be made toward removal of implant devices when they are no longer effective.

3. The least reactive materials should be considered for implantation. At the present time, titanium alloys have been shown to be more inert than their metallic counterparts.

As the search for the ideal human implant material continues, a few important lessons have been learned. First, mixtures of elements such as stainless steel have a higher incidence of antigenicity because they contain a number of different elements, each of which may be an allergen. The smaller the number of elements that are combined to form a metal, the more biocompatible the material will be. Second, certain elements have been found to have increased tissue reactivity, namely nickel, cobalt-chrome, and even vanadium. The less a metal contains these antigenic elements, the less likely the metal will be incompatible. Third, newer “pure” elements with a greater degree of chemical inertness, such as commercially pure titanium and titanium-alloy niobium, are being studied. This ongoing research may lead to a universally biocompatible human implant material that will be used exclusively for all types of implants.