Secondary removal of intramedullary metal debris from a defective Reamer-Irrigator-Aspirator (RIA) reamer head: A case report

The Reamer-Irrigator-Aspirator (RIA) device represents a safe and efficient method to harvest autologous bone for grafting. However, hardware failure may occur, for example by breakage of the reamer head with metal debris remaining in the intramedullary canal. This case report describes the uncomplicated secondary removal of femoral intramedullary metal debris from a broken RIA reamer head; three weeks after the final surgery of a two-stage Masquelet procedure for the treatment of posttraumatic segmental bone loss at the tibia.