Your Health

Certain Hip Implants Subject To Recall

Posted 11/12/2010

(NAPSI) - There may be hopeful news for those who received a hip replacement that causes them pain or isn’t functioning properly.

A worldwide recall for a particular model has been issued by the manufacturer. As a result, those with the device may have a legal remedy.

That company has now issued a worldwide recall of all components for the ASR XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System.

Patients have complained of swelling, pain, mobility issues and other serious symptoms, some of which led to revision surgery.

The company had sold about 93,000 of the DePuy hip system devices before phasing out production last year. The manufacturer said it is withdrawing the “very few” left on the market because new data indicated surgeons needed to replace them at a rate more than twice the industry average.

In addition, the company said new, unpublished data it received from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales show that within five years, about 12 percent of people getting the Hip Resurfacing System and about 13 percent of those getting the Acetabular System needed corrective surgery.

These devices have come under scrutiny over the last few years because they are part of a category of so-called “metal-on-metal” implants, which can generate debris from wear, causing inflammation and tissue damage in certain patients.

Those patients who wish to pursue a legal response to this situation will want to find a legal team that has experience in this area. For example, the attorneys in the medicine and medical device unit of Stryker, Sulzer and Zimmer have extensive experience with litigation involving defective implants, including hips.

These attorneys have been serving the legal needs of people harmed by defective medicines and medical devices for over 20 years.

To find out more, please visit www.weitzlux.com or call (888) 411-5297.

The Food and Drug Administration reports that since 2008 it has received about 400 complaints from people who have been implanted with a particular type of hip replacement system that is now subject to recall.