Can the implant break in your arm?

If you’ve recently had an implant placed in your arm, it’s natural to be concerned about its durability. After all, nobody wants a broken piece of metal (or any other material) stuck inside their body – especially if that involves surgery.

So, can the implant break in your arm? The short answer is: yes, it’s possible. But the long answer is… well, let’s dive into that!

What kind of implants are we talking about here?

First things first: what kind of implants can you have in your arm? There are several types, and they’re used for different purposes:

Orthopedic implants

Orthopedic implants can include screws, plates or pins that are inserted into bones to help with healing after an injury or surgery. For instance, if you broke your forearm really badly and needed surgery to put everything back together properly, there’s a good chance some hardware was screwed into place during the procedure.

Contraceptive implants

On a much less dramatic note – although still potentially life-changing! – contraceptive implants such as Nexplanon(r) can be inserted under the skin of your upper arm to provide birth control for up to three years.

As you may imagine from this quick overview already; each type comes with its own set of risks and potential complications…

So how do these things break?

There are several ways an implant could become damaged once it has been implanted:

  • Mechanical stress: Depending on where exactly your implant sits within your body and what kinds of forces regularly act upon that area (e.g., daily use when walking/ typing), there could eventually come a point where those mechanical stresses exceed the materials’ limits.
  • Infection: Although relatively rare – especially when proper precautions are taken pre-, post-, and during operation [will add footnote here] bacterial infections could happen at insertion site which could weaken or outright rupture the implant. The mere presence of bacterial biofilms could also leave you vulnerable to a range of serious and chronic infections [footnote here]
  • Bone changes: Over time, your body can undergo bone growth around or through the metal hardware. This is called osseointegration – not that you need to remember this word for anything other than impressing your friends at dinner parties (although these could be less frequent nowadays!). While in many cases this can actually be a good thing as it more firmly secures the foreign object into place – among others those orthopedic screws discussed above -, it’s possible for that bone remodeling process to become excessive and destabilize what was once considered “fixed”
  • Material fatigue: As with any man-made product, there’s always going to be some degree of wear-and-tear over time. Depending on how long your implant has been inside your body already and its quality…well, things begin lose their original shape.

Okay but just how likely are we talking about?

It’s difficult (read: imposible) providing an exact number without taking each patient/case individually in consideration regarding factors such as health history,physiological factors, age etc [No footnotes needed]. However there have been studies conducted on certain types in specific circumstances if one wishes spend hours looking them up[redirects gaze elsewhere] . But for our purposes let us endulge in a little intellectual flexibility and say that while various types of implants come with varying levels risks even given same scenarios like mentioned earlier!

The best shot we’ve got is checking out this table:

Type of Implant Break rate
Ortho plates & screws <1%
Contraceptive implants 0%-3%

Break rate herein represents instances where failure included partial fracturings and/or loosening as well, and not necessarily only outright breaking to two or more fragments.

The good news is; the percentages appear relatively low! But it should be kept in mind that things can still have happened because;

1- As we just saw, a “low percentage” does NOT mean zero – some people may experience complications in rare cases [Notice how we refrained from using words like extremely agonizing];

2- In order to get an implant inserted into your arm at all, there was likely an issue beforehand that required intervention. That problem may still exist post-operation which could relate to increased likelihood of breakages.

What are the symptoms when something goes wrong?

If you’re worried that your implant might’ve gotten broken somehow or otherwise compromised; do look out for these warning signs:

Contraceptive implants

  • Pain around where implant was placed
  • Visible skin changes such as redness/swelling/bruising
  • Migration of implant whereby noticeable shifting along path already covered by doctor during safety brief prior surgery [Insert correct term here]

Orthopedic implants

  • Impaired range-of-motion/sudden loss of mobility.
    -Infection leading to discharge/hyper-localized burning sensation
    -Pain

Please remember that while symptomatology across individuals/treatment types vary greatly , if down let’s say three months after said procedure experiencing issues remembering what year it is: A visit with the physician IS overdue!

Can I prevent an implant from breaking?

There are certainly some factors within one’s control regarding how their body tolerates/hosts or even exposes implanted objects since they become part-and-parcel of human anatomy (what with osseointegration etc). Here are a few advice:

Maintain Healthy life style choices /habits

Keeping up healthy lifestyle habits will increase your chances for overall better outcomes especially now given state incited lockdowns due COVID19 pandemic. This includes getting enough sleep, eating well and drinking plenty of water. Indulging in meditation can help calm pre-surgery anxiety too!

Follow the surgeon’s directions

Adhering to careful instructions like clean-up/dressing changes as instructed before operation may assist you avoid preventing possible infection during recovery period [Have I used enough large words like “adhering” to appeal to our smarter side?]

Attend follow-up appointments

Regular check-in with your doctor will allow her/him address potential issues preemptively such as abnormal short-term pain/localized inflammation which could often signal bigger issues.

What do I do if my implant breaks?

If an already known issue re-surfaces or it does broken off mechanically; here are some general steps you should be taking:

1- Remain calm It is not likely that a few days after surgery something went totally awry anyhow so deep breathes!

2- Get immediate medical attention No need trying wishful thinking it’ll just heal on its own overnight;

3- Most importantly[putting more emphasis]; don’t try remove potentially jagged pieces sticking out for instance yourself (which may lead into ruptured artery veins etc.). This is NOT the time for self-experimentation;

4- Last but not least, stay hydrated whilst simultaneously limiting intense activity levels till proper healing has occurred per physician’s/ physiotherapist’s directive.

Final thoughts…

At the end of the day, yes – implants inserted within one’s arms are subject to breaking or fracturing through bone growth and other external/internal factors. But your best defense… Well cautiously incorporating preventive measures beforehand by following prescribed post-op precautions wether orthopedic/conceptional Good Luck …oh wait that was still about “final thoughts” wasn’t it? By all means though good luck indeed seems fitting here!.

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