DePuy Hip Replacement and NexGen Knee Recall

Michigan Medical Malpractice Lawyer

DePuy Hip Implants Fail

On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson, announced a worldwide recall of over 93,000 implants encompassing two hip systems - the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System.This recall means monitoring, testing and treatment may be necessary to ensure these devices are functioning properly and in many cases, patients may need additional "revision surgery." All components for the ASR™ XL Acetabular System and ASR™ Hip Resurfacing Platform are part of this recall. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. over a hip replacement implant that was recalled earlier this year due to a high failure rate. According to a study published in Britain, 13 percent of patients that received the ASR XL Acetabular System hip replacement had to have revision surgery within five years.

Zimmer NexGen Knee Implants

More than 150,000 Zimmer NexGen CR and Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex Porous Femoral implants have been sold since 2003. The Zimmer NexGen knee replacement system has been linked to a number of problems, including reports of pain, loosening of the implant and failure of the replacement knee leading to revision surgery.

At a conference of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in March 2010, several prominent knee surgeons presented data on the outcomes of 108 knee replacement patients who received the Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex Porous Femoral component at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. After only two years, the researchers reported:

• 9 patients required knee revision surgery due to loosening and pain
• 39 patients showed evidence of radiographic loosening

It is suspected that the higher-than-expected failure rate is linked to design problems with Zimmer NexGen replacement knees, as the orthopedic surgeons concluded that they were not caused by surgical errors, problems with the technique or the type of patient who received the knee implant.

For more information about your options and legal rights, contact a Michigan medical malpractice attorney at our law firm today.