Bilateral femoral component breakage in total hip replacement: a case report

Breakage of the femoral component of a total hip replacement prosthesis is an uncommon occurrence with modern prostheses. The authors report what appears to be the only case of bilateral prosthetic fracture. A 65-year-old man, who was physically active, suffered bilateral femoral stem fractures 3 and 5 years after total hip replacement. The bilateral cemented hip replacements remained asymptomatic until catastrophic failure of the femoral component occurred. Both prostheses were titanium (Biomet; Warsaw, Ind.) with chrome cobalt modular femoral heads. The authors stress the importance of maintaining an adequate cement mantle in Gruen zones 1 and 7 because failure to do so may result in micromotion and subsequent stem fracture.