Early failure of a zirconia femoral head prosthesis: fracture or fatigue?

Background: Zirconium ceramics are one of the most controversial prosthetic biomaterials with good mechanical properties on the one hand, but early failure incidents on the other hand. A case of an early failure of zirconia femoral head in a 73-year-old clergy man, who underwent a total hip arthroplasty 28 months before, is reported.

Method: The retrieved femoral head fragments, during revision surgery, were studied using scanning electron microscopy.