Spontaneous fracture of the ceramic ball in a ceramic-polyethylene total hip arthroplasty.

Fractures of the ceramic ball in total hip arthroplasty are an uncommon cause of arthroplasty failure, and reports of this complication in ceramic-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasty articulations are rare. Ball fractures have been reported in patients who were overweight, had high levels of activity, or had been injured. Other postulated contributory factors have included small ball diameter, defects in ceramic quality or manufacture, and errors in implantation of the arthroplasty. A case of a ceramic ball fracture in a ceramic and polyethylene articulation is reported, and the literature on such fractures is reviewed.