Implant failure in osteosynthesis of fractures of long bones

Abstract

Patients who had open operative treatment of fractures of long bones were reviewed retrospectively to identify the incidence of and risk factors for implant failure. One hundred and five patients had open reduction and internal fixation of 117 fractures of long bones, out of which four patients suffered implant failure. The implant failure rate in this study was 3.4%. Three of the implant failures occurred in the femur and one occurred in the humerus. Three cases of fixation with plates (5.8% of plated fractures) and one case of kuntscher nail fixation (1.8% of cases treated with intramedullary nails) failed. Early weight bearing, weight in excess of 125kg and body mass index (BMI) that is greater than 37 were observed in those who suffered implant failure in this study. We advocate cautiously graduated weight bearing, particularly in overweight patients, as a measure to prevent implants failure in operative treatment of fractured long bones.

Keywords: Implant Failure, Internal fixation, Body weight, Early weight bearing, Fractures, Long Bones

Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research Vol. 5 (2) 2006: pp. 75-78