Early Comminuted Fracture of an Alumina Liner in a Ceramic on Ceramic Total Hip Arthroplasty / 대한정형외과학회잡지

ABSTRACT

The authors experienced a case of early fracture of an alumina ceramic liner after ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty, without any history of trauma. A 47-year-old male visited our center, due to a sudden crunching sound from the right hip at three weeks, after a ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty for the osteonecrosis of right femoral head. Plain radiographs revealed multiple radio-opaque fragments around the displaced neck of the femoral stem. There were severely comminuted fracture of the ceramic liner with slight black staining of the surrounding tissue, and even damaged the surface of the ceramic head, on the operative field. The fractured liner and a damaged head were replaced with a new ceramic liner and head, after the removal of the fractured ceramic fragments, as completely as possible. Careful follow up with a caution for early ceramic liner fracture should be required in ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty.