America's Most Implanted Devices

The U.S. medical implant market was valued at $32.3 billion in 2010, according to global consultancy Frost & Sullivan. To find out which devices were leading the pack in terms of actual use, the team at 24/7 Wall St. dug through National Health Survey data, professional physician services, peer-reviewed journals, and SEC filings to compile a list of the eleven most implanted medical devices in America. And the results and rankings on the list may just surprise you.

The below list and information comes from 24/7 Wall St. For more details on the medical implants and the factors that established their ranking, check out the full story on the company's Web site.

11. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs)

10. Artificial Hips

 9. Heart Pacemakers

 8. Breast Implants

 7. Spine Screws, Rods, and Artificial Discs (Spinal-Fusion Hardware)

 6. Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)

 5. Metal Screws, Pins, Plates, and Rods (Traumatic Fracture Repair)

 4. Artificial Knees

 3. Coronary Stents

 2. Ear Tubes (Tympanostomy Tubes)

 1. Artificial Eye Lenses (Pseudophakos/Intraocular Lens)

I can't say I was surprised to see ICDs, pacemakers, hips, knees, stents, trauma, and fusion implants on the list. However, I was rather surprised at the rankings in some cases. To be honest, I predicted that stents would be number one and expected that artificial hips would rank a bit higher than they did. I must also admit that, for some reason, IUDs didn't even cross my mind as a potential ranked implant.

But the most interesting surprises here to me, at least, were the implants scoring the one and two spots on the list. While I knew that ear infections seem to run rampant in children, I had no idea that myringotomy and tube placement is the most commonly performed pediatric operation. As a result, ear tubes nabbed the number two spot. Likewise, I was well aware of the prevalence of cataracts among patients, yet had no clue that, apparently, more than 2.5 million related procedures were performed in the last reported year (2006).

What do you think of this list of the most implanted medical devices in America? Were you surprised by some of the devices that made the list or their rankings? Or did you predict that eyes and ears would reign supreme? Let us know in the comments section below. --Shana Leonard