Picture
The news regarding the DePuy hip recall stirred up the interest and concern of the public. This issue started when DePuy Orthopaedics, the prime manufacturer of the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, recalled their products from the market after the Food and Drug Administration took control. These are both metal-on-metal hip implants with a 12-13% failure rate. Anyone unfortunate enough to have received a defective implant will experience a number of symptoms, such as pain, movement difficulties, reduced range of motion and numbness around the hip area. Complications such as closed fractures, leg asymmetry and paralysis can also occur if the symptoms are not managed immediately.

Basically, with non-DePuy hip implant failures, the risks are more or less the same. DePuy’s ASR systems might entail more hazards because of the substantially high failure rate, but you should be well-informed nevertheless. Other manufacturers like Zimmer also face hip recall lawsuits because they have also been known to produce malfunctioning hip implants.

With this, you might ask, “What am I going to do if start to experience symptoms of a failing non-DePuy hip implant?” If you are wondering about the validity of a lawsuit, you can still press charges even if your defective implant is manufactured by a company other than DePuy. However, what you should first do is to talk to your physician. Details about your hip replacement operation, including the nature and maker of your hip implants, can all be known. This will help you establish the details of your case.

The DePuy hip recall mirrors all other negligent manufacturers of flawed health care devices. If you have just recently learned of this issue, then you might as well keep track of pertinent news and updates, including the legal options that are made available to you. As what the famous saying goes, ‘ignorance of the law excuses no one’. Speak to a hip recall lawyer now.

 
Picture
DePuy Orthopedics, just this year of 2010, issued a product recall on their ASR system because of their high failure rats of about 13%, and the associated adverse effects that placed the patients at a very difficult disposition.

The DePuy hip recall has alarmed patients with arthritis, in particular, because hip replacement surgeries are effective remedies for degenerative hip conditions, such as osteoarthritis, which is a condition that affects elderly women more than men. A hip replacement operation generally has a good prognosis, but it depends entirely on the overall functionality of the hip implant, which takes the responsibility left by a damaged hip joint. Obviously, if there is something with the implant itself, the hip replacement is a total waste of time and money.

Examples of the problems associated with the defective implants are pain, movement difficulties, metal sensitivity, headache, tissue swelling and bone fractures. Because the implant is technically a foreign object, infection may also occur, resulting in fever and other signs of inflammation. The metal debris released from the implants travels into the blood stream, causing nervous system damage. In severe cases, permanent disability may occur if neglected for too long. The risks are even higher for those with arthritic conditions.

Before anything worse happens, you ought to consult an orthopedist, possibly a different one, just to get a second medical opinion. Right after that, consult your hip recall lawyer for your legal options about your situation.

Credits to: Guest Post - Hip Transplant Recall Alarms Patients with Arthritic Conditions, m