High-strength porous prosthetic device and process for making the same

A prosthetic device composed substantially entirely of a porous metallic material that is substantially non-corrodable and non-degradable by body fluids, said porous material comprising a plurality of particles of said metallic material fused together at points of contact with each other to define a plurality of connected, interstitial pores distributed throughout the porous metallic material, the average interstitial pore size of said material being from about 100 micrometers to about 500 micrometers, the porosity of the material being between 10 and 40 percent, and the compression strength of the material being at least about 20,000 psi, said device being formed by the process of heating a metallic powder in a non-oxidizing environment to a temperature within about 25.degree. C. of its melting point for a period of from a few minutes to about one hour.