Wear and corrosion in retrieved thoracolumbar posterior internal fixation.

Study Design: Posterior thoracolumbar spine implants retrieved as part of routine clinical practice over a 2-year period were analyzed to identify wear and corrosion.

Objective: Engineering analyses of retrieved posterior instrumentation for indications of performance and failure and correlation of this information with clinical factors.

Summary Of Background Data: Recent studies have reported spinal instrumentation particulate wear debris and have noted the importance of design considerations at implant connector interfaces.