While many people are given a new lease on life after a hip replacement, the number of people who have suffered from recalled, faulty and dangerous implant devices, is shockingly high.
When a hip replacement device is recalled, it means that either a company voluntarily removed a device from the market, or the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) intervened on the company’s behalf.
10 major companies have either voluntarily recalled over 40 dangerous hip replacement devices, or the FDA has forced them to do this.
The dangers of living with a faulty implant are high and can cause victims of them serious and sometimes even fatal side effects.
Faulty Hip Replacement Device Symptoms
Many people have noticeable symptoms of faulty hip replacement devices but many people do not. It is important to discuss your hip replacement with a doctor because even if a device has been recalled, everyone who has one of these may not know about the recall. If you do have a faulty hip replacement device you and your doctor may decide to closely monitor it rather than an invasive, corrective surgery.
The average hip replacement device or implant is supposed to last about 15-20 years. If you never fully recovered from your surgery or if your new hip started to cause problems long before 15 – 20 years has passed, it may be because of a faulty hip replacement device.
One of the more common kinds of faulty hip replacement devices are those that are made of metal. The metal-on-metal surfaces on the ball-and-socket joint of these devices causes high friction rates that make the implants wear down too fast. This can cause metallosis. If metallosis is not treated it can lead to:
- Bone loss
- Cardiomyopathy
- Circulatory issues
- Cognitive issues
- General hypersensitivity reaction (skin rash)
- Increased pain in hip or groin
- Inflammation
- Neurological changes
- Numbness
- Osteolysis
- Renal function impairment
- Thyroid function impairment
HIP REPLACEMENT RECALLS
The number of the major hip replacement companies that have had to recall their different hip replacement devices is disturbing, especially given the number of Americans who undergo hip replacement surgeries each year. Because of this, there are many different individual and class action lawsuits against these faulty devices.
The FDA is the government branch that investigates and recalls medical devices.
The following is an alphabetical list of some of the major hip replacement companies and the names of their devices that have been recalled:
BIOMET
- Mallory-Head
- M2a
- Taperloc
CENTERPULSE
- Orthadapt
- Inter-Op
CORIN
- Cormet 2000
DEPUY ORTHOPEDICS
- ASR
- ASR XL
- AML
- Marathon
- Pinnacle
- Prodigy
- S-ROM
ENCORE ORTHOPEDICS
- Foundation
- Linear
- Revelation
EXACTECH
- Option
SMITH & NEPHEW
- Birmingham
- Duo
- IVS Tunneler
- Metal liner of R3
- Modular SMF
- Modular Redapt Femoral System
- Synergy
- TriGen Hip Nail
STRYKER ORTHOPEDICS
- ABG II
- Crossfire
- Exeter
- Omnifit
- Rejuvenate
- Sulzer Inter-Op
- Trident Hemispherical SH
WRIGHT MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
- Conserve Plus
- Dynasty
- Metal Transcend
- Perfecta
- Profemur Z
ZIMMER HOLDINGS
- Durom Cop
- Longevity
- Mayo Hip
- VerSys
It is important for hip replacement patients to know that the devices that were implanted in their bodies are safe for them. If you or someone you love has undergone a hip replacement surgery in the last ten years or so, it may be in your best interest to find out what kind of device was used and whether or not it is still considered safe for this implant to be in your body.
If you find out that you or someone you love are one of the unfortunate many victims of faulty hip replacement devices, it may be in your best interest to discuss your situation with reliable hip recall lawyers.