Implant Failure

Implant failure is either failure of the bone-implant surface, resulting in implant motion and loss of fracture stability or by mechanical failure of the implant such as bending or breaking. Implant failure can precipitate serious complications in fracture management if failure occurs before adequate bone healing. In some patients, these problems can be anticipated and avoided by adequate fracture planning preoperatively, good technical skills during surgery, and critical review of the radiographs immediately after surgery. Mechanical failure of implants may occur when the implant is subjected to an acute catastrophically high load but more often results from cyclic load causing fatigue failure of the implant when fracture healing is delayed. Most implant failures occur at weak areas of the implant or implant construct. Implant failure is suspected when an animal presents with acute loss of limb function soon after fracture fixation.