[Titanium, steel and their combination in bone surgery].

The combined application of Titanium plates with stainless steel screws appeared interesting, making a more elastic plate available without the risk of screw fractures. 3 different combinations of Titanium und stainless steel implants were tested in the animal and on humans. A morphometric evaluation of the soft tissue (animal) gave similar good results for stainless steel implants as for the combination of Titanium and steel, while pure Titanium gave the best result. Atomic absorption tests (human) showed that in case of the Titanium/steel mixture only the stainless steel screws did corrode. Delayed fracture healing or mechanical instability always gave risk to more metal deposits in the soft tissue than primary bone healing. If the advantages of Titanium seem important and if the rigidity of stainless steel screws may not be missed, the combination of the two metals appears possible and without danger.