A case of clinical failure of a surgical implant (a Thornton plate and Smith-Petersen nail) caused by crevice corrosion of the plate is presented. In this implant which was composed of wrought and cast Vitallium it was the wrought Vitallium that showed the most significant changes. The metals involved and the corrosion products were analyzed and crevice corrosion studies were carried out using a testing method applicable to the metals from this case and to any metals used for similar applications.
Experiments performed in our laboratory are reviewed in which it was shown that superior resistance to crevice corrosion and superior strength and ductility can be imparted to the currently used cast cobalt-chromium alloy, Haynes Stellite 21, by alteration of fabrication methods, thereby giving it over-all superiority as a surgical implant material.