PATHOLOGICAL SUPRACONDYLAR FRACTURE DUE TO OSTEOLYTIC PSEUDOTUMOR OF KNEE FOLLOWING CEMENTLESS TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT

Wear debris of polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, and metal have be en recognized to be associated with foreign body reactions, osteolysis , and aseptic prosthetic loosening after joint replacement arthroplast y, Further, foreign body reaction due to the presence of extensive wea r debris can cause aggressive granulomatous lesions and pathologic fra cture. To our knowledge, there has been no previous report of patholog ic fracture of the femur due to an agressive pseudotumor, This report describes a case of pathologic supracondylar fracture of the femur 6 y ears and 5 months after cementless total knee replacement arthroplasty , The fracture occurred through an aggressive expanding soft tissue ma ss that was a tumorlike lesion secondary to polyethylene wear debris, The lesion was associated with massive osteolysis around the femoral c omponent of the total knee prosthesis. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc .