Hip Implant Recall -Metal on Metal

According to a New York Times article, the volume of complaints regarding failed hip replacements may prove the metal on metal hips to be the largest and most costly medical device implant recall since Medtronic's recall in 2007.  Many surgeons have stopped using metal on metal implants.  But for many this comes too little too late.  One metal on metal hip replacement recipient who was experiencing inflammation and pain, had her hip implant devices removed but it was too late.  The metal debris had already caused such extensive tissue damage that she now ambulates with the assistance of a brace. 

hip replacement recall

Hip Implant Recall Amid fear of Dementia, Heart Failure and Hearing Loss

The DePuy metal on metal hip implant can result in microscopic metal particles being released into your blood stream resulting in metal deposits in your tissue. This can result in dementia, heart failure and/or hearing loss. If you have a DePuy ASR implant it is important to have your blood checked for chromium and cobalt metals.

DePuy Hip Implant Recall

The DePuy ASR device is a metal on metal hip implant.  As metal on metal  implants wear, they can cause large amounts of microscopic metallic debris. These metal particles can irritate the tissue and bone causing a severe inflammatory response, causing muscles and other soft tissues to be damaged.  A large number of these devices, require replacement of the device soon after implant.  Whereas, the normal life expectancy of most artificial hips is 15 years or more.

DePuy Hip Replacement Recall

DePuy ASR Hip replacement

Hip Replacement Recall

According to The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, metal-on-metal hip implants may cause toxic levels of metal to circulate in the bloodstream and ultimately deposit in the tissues.
According to the article, within one year of the hip implant surgery, 2 patients who were previously fit and healthy, experienced symptoms of persistent hip pain and shortness of breath as the metal from the hip implant entered into the patients bloodstream and tissues.
Two years after receiving the hip implants, the patients in the study experienced more overt signs and symptoms of cobaltism, which can include irritability, fatigue, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), hearing loss, headaches, loss of coordination, cognitive decline, and depression. The condition could also progress to blindness, convulsions, nerve damage and cardiomyopathy.
In addition to the neurological and cardiac damage, cobaltism can also cause tissue damage that could lead to complications that make future revision surgeries of the damaged metal hip implant impossible to repair.
The DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement systems have been linked to a high failure rate and were recalled by DePuy Orthopaedics a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.

Hip Implant Attorney

Recall DePuy Hip Replacement