Product News and Recalls

Woman immobile, unable to work after hip implant

The Minnesota/St. Paul Star Tribune ran a story on March 12 featuring a woman whose DePuy metal-on-metal replacement hip failed prematurely, leaving her unable to work or walk. For a time, her kidneys and liver failed. She is also in pain. She blames it all on the artificial hip, the Star Tribune reports.

The report says that Wagner-Morley and thousands more like her throughout the United States have led medical professionals to question the idea of “metal-on-metal” devices, in which both the bone end and the socket are coated with metal. Reported problems include dislocation, tissue inflammation and metal debris flaking off and accumulating in the bloodstream.

The story quotes orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alan Knopf as saying: “This metal-on-metal concept … has lost enthusiasm in the medical community.”

The story points out that DePuy voluntarily recalled its ASR hip in August 2010 and has set up a help line and reimbursement program that attorneys have criticized for failing to adequately reimburse patients for the costs of revision surgery.

But that recall was not issued until the company received hundreds of complaints. And a recent investigation by the medical journal BJM found that DePuy aggressively marketed the implants despite internal communications making it clear that the company knew about the risks.

Contact Lopez McHughf or a free case evaluation if you received a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant and experienced side-effects.

See the story here: https://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/wellness/142270675.html