Catastrophic Polyethylene Failure and Fractured Femoral Component in Modern Knee Arthroplasty Design: A Case Report

We report a 67-year-old gentleman who presented with a painful unstable knee. He had undergone a successful total knee arthroplasty 12 years earlier and was highly functional. He presented with a 10-month history of mild pain, instability, and gait alteration. During revision surgery, there was a loss of bony support, and a fractured femoral component was identified. He required constrained revision components for reconstruction and made an uneventful recovery.

Fractured femoral components are rare complications of modern primary total knee arthroplasty. Loss of bony support in critical areas of high loading will inevitably lead to catastrophic component failure.