Failure Analysis of a Titanium Hip Prosthesis

Total hip arthroplasty or total hip replacement (THR) is a surgical procedure for inserting an implant, which aims to restore the functionality of movements lost due to fractures, joint wear, bone loss and other problems. Although the THR procedure is consolidated in medicine, failures in THR implan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of failure analysis and prevention 2021-02, Vol.21 (1), p.28-35
Main Authors: Pimenta, A. R., Tavares, S. S. M., Dias, D. F., Correa, S. R., Sobreiro, A. L., Diniz, M. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical materials
Case History > -Peer-Reviewed
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemical analysis
Chemistry and Materials Science
Classical Mechanics
Corrosion and Coatings
Diamond pyramid hardness
Digital imaging
Failure analysis
Finite element method
Fractures
Image processing
Materials Science
Microscopy
Optical microscopy
Orthopaedic implants
Prostheses
Quality Control
Reliability
Safety and Risk
Solid Mechanics
Surgical implants
Transplants & implants
Tribology
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Summary:Total hip arthroplasty or total hip replacement (THR) is a surgical procedure for inserting an implant, which aims to restore the functionality of movements lost due to fractures, joint wear, bone loss and other problems. Although the THR procedure is consolidated in medicine, failures in THR implants associated with different problems are frequently reported in the literature. The aim of the present study was to identify and evaluate the reasons that led a THR implant to fail prematurely after 2 years of use in a 65-year-old female patient. In order to identify the reason of the failure, the following techniques were used: optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, chemical analysis by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, Vickers microhardness measurements, digital image processing technique and a mathematical method of finite element analysis. It was concluded that the fractured implant presented a fatigue mechanism, due to existence of pits on the surface.
ISSN:1547-7029
1728-5674
1864-1245
DOI:10.1007/s11668-020-01041-2