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Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics
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Bending Cantilever



- See: Broken Femoral Stems:

- Discussion:
    - bending cantilever fatigue is caused by proximal loss of stem support while distally the stem is securely fixed;
    - proximal cement breaks up, but distal portion of stem remains tightly fixed in place;
    - subsequent medial migration or deformation of proximal stem results;
    - radiolucent zones develop proximally, medial and lateral to the stem, and may progress to stem failure;










Original Text by Clifford R. Wheeless, III, MD.