Massive wear in a CoCrMo head following the fracture of an alumina head.

Abstract

The catastrophic fracture of an alumina femoral head is, fortunately, an increasingly rare event. The improvements made in the quality of modern ceramics, together with greater care in the manufacture of femoral stem cones and higher levels of expertise of the surgeons implanting the head itself, have significantly reduced this risk. A statistical analysis by Piconi (1) evaluates the percentage of breakage in modern ceramic heads at less than 0.02% (1 fracture every 5000 implants). We can therefore say that today the use of ceramic heads is highly reliable, but in certain cases, due mostly to negligence or technical errors, the fracture of the head is still possible. In these cases the problem we are facing is how to proceed in the revision of the implant, as simply replacing the head may lead to a further and more severe failure of the implant. (Hip International 2002; 1: 37-42).