Fracture of an alumina femoral head used in ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty.

A case report regarding the fracture of an alumina ceramic femoral head used in ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty is presented. The patient, who was seen in the emergency room with pain, grinding, and instability in the hip immediately after a slip-without-fall event, also reported having fallen from a height of 8 ft 6 months earlier. Characterization of the alumina fracture surfaces by light and scanning electron microscopy suggests that the previous fall may have favored the nucleation and growth of subcritical cracks in the ceramic, which lead to fracture during the slip-without-fall event.

Early failure of bioabsorbable anterior cervical fusion plates: case report and failure analysis.

Study Design: Case report with forensic failure analysis.

Objective: To determine the failure modes of 3 explanted 70:30 PLDLA Mystique (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN) graft containment plates retrieved from revision surgery for early device failure.

Summary Of Background Data: To reduce the problems of stress-shielding and radiopacity associated with metallic systems, bioabsorbable polymers have been used in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion procedures.