Product News and Recalls

Frequent, long-term monitoring recommended for hip implants

According to an article in the New York Times, British health regulators are recommending that patients who received a certain type of metal-on-metal hip implant get annual examinations for as long as they have the devices, because of concerns that the implants will shed pieces of metallic debris as they wear.

Previously, the health regulators had recommended that the patients be monitored for five years. But recent data show the hip implants in question – consisting of both a ball and socket made of metal – failing at two-to-three times the rate of those made from metal and plastic.

According to the New York Times story, the devices were widely used in the United States over the last decade. Thousands of patients needed second surgeries to have them replaced within a few years, and hundreds suffered crippling injuries because of the metallic debris.

If you’ve received a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant, contact Lopez McHugh for a free case evaluation.

See the New York Times article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/health/metal-hips-in-britain-require-longer-monitoring-regulators-say.html?_r=2&src=rechp