DePuy Orthopaedics, a well renowned manufacturer of medical devices and implants in the United States. The company is a subdivision of Johnson & Johnson and is well known throughout the United States and around the world for their state-of-the-art medical instruments.
Although the company has maintained a relatively pristine reputation, there is a serious blemish in their record for producing safe and effective hip implant devices. In the September of 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics announced a worldwide recall of their Acetabular Hip Implant System, named the ASR XL. One of the primary reasons being that there was a pattern of patients who had hip implant surgeries utilizing DePuy Hip Implant products after 2003 that were proving to have been negatively impacted due to complications of the defective hip implant, many of whom experienced complete device failure. The reported number of patients that were injured as a result quickly reached into the thousands. It was calculated that 1 in 9 patients that underwent hip replacement surgery using a DePuy Hip Implant device experienced serious and harmful injuries as result of their defective hip implant.
Despite the fact that the implant was manufactured to make sure that a patient’s bone grows successfully into the back of the ASR XL acetabular cup thus securing it, the results were not exactly as the manufacturer had intended. Loosening was caused due to a lack of growth of the bone which was supposed to ease into the cup. Experts widely criticized the product for its poor design. Moreover, reports claimed that the cup wasn’t even tested properly by clinical trials. Instead, the regulatory pathway cleared it. Due to this reluctance, patients that underwent hip replacement surgery utilizing DePuy hip implant products ended up having revision surgeries and/or replacement within 5 years or sooner after their initial surgery. The typical lifespan of non-recalled implants is at minimum 10-20 years, a huge difference when compared to comparable effective hip implant devices.
What Were the Complications of the DePuy Hip Implant Systems?
The DePuy ASR & DePuy ABG II hip replacement system caused issues up to and including:
- Metallosis / Metal poisoning of the blood
- Hip pain
- Swelling & Inflammation of surrounding tissues
- Balance & Gait Issues
- Revision surgery as a result of the defective hip
- Replacement of the DePuy Hip Implant as a result of premature device failure
Further medical problems included severe complications. Some patients were reported to have absorption of metal debris into their bloodstream through soft tissues. This caused severe inflammation, mental confusion, muscle and joint pains, food allergies/intolerances, short-term memory loss, vision problems, gastrointestinal upsets, as well as chronic fatigue. Apart from that were the woes brought about by a second or revision surgery. This is problematic because many orthopedic surgeons will attest that a second or revision hip surgery is often not as effective as the original attempt. This is especially dangerous when you’re dealing with elderly and immune compromised patients. The rehabilitation and recovery process is also much more difficult and lengthy the second time, which only adds to the patients’ already severe complications.
According to lawsuits that have followed, the company had known about the high rates of failure and metal toxicity a long before the recall was initiated. Yet, they either failed or refrained from warning the patients about the complications and injuries caused by the DePuy hip replacement product.
A substantial amount of lawsuits followed, and more are still expected. If you are one of the unfortunate patients who had a DePuy hip implant surgery with DePuy’s ASR XL, Rejuvenate or any other hip implant device, then you may be entitled to compensation.
The attorneys at the McGartland Law Firm decades of experience representing patients negatively impacted and injured due to the negligence of other as a result of defective medical devices. Call us immediately for a free case evaluation. We may find cause to file suit to get you the just compensation you deserve as a result of your injuries. Call the Fort Worth, Texas Hip Implant Injury Lawyers at the McGartland Law Firm Today!