Hip Replacement Failure and Revision Procedures
Once a person requires an initial hip replacement surgery, things aren’t good. Whether it’s due to arthritis or injury, the goal is to replace the hip and improve the patient’s quality of life. Recipients can return to an active lifestyle. The initial procedure is often fairly easy, especially when compared to other types of surgical operations, and recovery periods last only a few months. Hip replacements don’t last forever, though they’re meant to last at least 15 years.
Two of DePuy’s hip replacements, the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, fail within 6 years for 49% of recipients, and they are now subject to the DePuy hip replacement recall. This means that patients often have to undergo a subsequent hip replacement procedure far sooner than they had original anticipated, and what’s more, replacing an implant that has merely worn out is far easier than replacing a failed implant. Why? Two reasons. First, DePuy’s two implants are badly designed, so people often experience pain while moving, swelling, inflammation, dislocation, and infection. Second, the implants shed metal ions (chromium and cobalt) that further inflame patients’ hip regions and also enter their bloodstreams. The condition is called metallosis, and DePuy recipients often have hundreds of times the normal level of the metals in their bodies. Metallosis can lead to all kinds of problems, including nerve and neurological damage. Revision procedures in circumstances such as these are often more dangerous to patients, with larger portions of the thigh bone requiring removal and a longer recovery period that can stretch to 6 months.
Due to the recall, it can be hard to know whether a revision is the right move for you. Not all the devices are expected to fail, so some people may not need to replace their hip implant. Moreover, there are risks associated with revision procedures as well. For example, in June of 2011, the Salt Lake Tribune reported of a man whose orthopedist recommended he revise his recalled DePuy ASR device. He did so, and at the time of publication, he could not raise his right leg, a condition called “post-surgical palsy.” Pain can persist, and revision procedures can fail too. It’s these risks that make the DePuy recall so angering for recipients.
Because of DePuy Orthopaedics badly designed hip replacements, 93,000 people are affected by the recall, and many of them have hired hip replacement lawyers to file hip replacement lawsuits against DePuy. If you’ve been affected by the recall and desire compensation for the amount of harm you’ve suffered, let the Rottenstein Law Group know by completing our contact form to the right or by clicking this link. One of our attorneys will call you for a free consultation shortly afterwards.