Fracture of a BIOLOX Delta Ceramic Femoral Head

CASE: A 52-year-old man underwent right total hip replacement with a 32-mm BIOLOX delta ceramic head with a polyethylene liner. At 8 months, he fell onto his right hip. Radiographs at the time were unremarkable. One month later, he noticed a sharp pain and a sensation of grinding in his right hip; radiographs of the hip showed a fracture of the ceramic head. CONCLUSIONS: This case further demonstrates that fourth-generation ceramic heads can fracture, and delays in catastrophic failure of ceramics in total hip arthroplasty (THA) following trauma may be secondary to the "slow crack growth" hypothesis.