fatal cobalt cardiomyopathy following revision total hip arthroplasty – a brief report with review of literature

Ceramic bearing surfaces are being increasingly used in young patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. however, failures have been reported including fractures even with the newer third generation ceramics. the recommended treatment for fracture of ceramic bearing surfaces is complete synovectomy and revision total hip arthroplasty. however, disappointing results have also been reported with this approach. the residual ceramic particles may lead to complications. we report a fatal case of cobalt toxicity leading to cardiomyopathy secondary to the catastrophic failure of a cobalt-chrome femoral head, which followed the revision of a fractured ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty. level of evidence: iv