Aetiology and Patterns of Implant Failure Following Fracture Fixation in a Developing Country

Abstract

Background: Implant failure is traumatic for patient as it increases the cost of treatment and may negatively affect the confidence of patients in the superior outcome of operatively treated fractures. Hence the objectives for this study were to determine the proportion of implant fixations that fail, types and causes of implant failure in our practice.
Methods: A retrospective study conducted at a tertiary health institution, South west, Nigeria. Data of patients who presented with implant failure following fracture management between 2006 and 2011 were reviewed. Outcome measures were type and causes of implant failure. Data were
analyzed using SPSS 16.
Results: A total of 349 patients had implant fixation done following fracture during the study period of which 19 (5.4%) had failure of their implant. The commonest type of failure was a broken implant while the commonest cause for implant failure was non union 9 (47.4%) which resulted in fatigue failure of implant.
Conclusions: We recommend adherence to principles of internal fixation. Education of our patients with regards to compliance with instruction will also go a long way in reducing the rate of failure.

Keywords: Internal fixation; Fractures; Implant failure