Have You Been Harmed By a DePuy Hip Replacement?
Each day in the United States hundreds of people enter hospitals to undergo surgical procedures. Replacement hip surgery has become much more common among older Americans who want to continue to live an active lifestyle. In fact, there are over 400,000 hip replacement surgeries performed every year. Hip implants made their first appearance in the 1970’s, and these implants were made of a combination of materials, including plastics, ceramics and metals. The metal-on-metal hip implants were created in the hopes of giving patients more durability and years of wear from their hip implant.
While DePuy’s ASR metal implant was recalled in August of 2010, other similar implants are still being marketed—including theDePuy Pinnacle. The FDA has held meetings of the orthopedic advisory board to study the high failure rates and incidence of metallosis among metal hip implant recipients. This same board intends to look at follow up considerations as well as discuss patient testing for metallosis and implant imaging. It is hoped that stricter testing and pre-market research will result from these meetings.
How a DePuy Defective Hip May Have Changed Your Life
Despite the hopes for longer wear, metal hip implants came with a significant complication which had not been anticipated by the manufacturers or the physicians who performed the surgical procedures. When the metal parts rubbed against one another during periods of activity, tiny metal ions would shear away, becoming lodged in surrounding tissues and entering the bloodstream. When the metal shards burrowed into the tissues, inflammation, tissue damage and death, bone loss and pain were the results. Revision surgery was almost always necessary in such cases; however revision surgery came with its own risks.
When cobalt and chromium entered the bloodstream, a wide array of adverse medical problems occurred. Once doctors began measuring the levels of cobalt and chromium among their patients who had undergone hip implant surgery with an all-metal hip implant they found some of their patients with metal levels over a hundred times the normal amount. Cobalt toxicity can cause neurological damage, cardiovascular damage, cancer and seizures. Chromium is equally dangerous, causing emotional disturbances such as depression, anxiety and irritability, gastrointestinal disorders, vision and hearing loss, kidney and thyroid problems, cardiovascular problems, vertigo and even alterations to DNA.
When it’s Time to Call a DePuyPinnacle Hip Attorney
Despite the fact that there has been no recall of the Pinnacle hip implant, many claims related to the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the first Pinnacle trial will take place in September, 2014. Pinnacle class action suits are also being filed in Texas and Ohio as well as individual cases across the nation. An experienced DePuy hip replacement attorney is well aware of the history of the manufacturer’s hip implants as well as all information which applies to DePuy specifically. Many patients are seeking compensation for the medical expenses associated with the medical problems brought on by an all-metal hip implant as well as expenses for revision surgery.levels are extremely high.
When the cobalt and chromium ions lodge into the hip tissues, inflammation, pain, tissue destruction and loss or bone loss are all potential side effects. When the levels of cobalt and chromium build up in the bloodstream, the renal, cardiovascular and neurological systems may all be affected. Further, fatigue, chronic headaches, emotional disturbances such as depression, irritability and anxiety, vertigo, hearing and vision loss, skin disorders and gastrointestinal problems are all seen in those with higher-than-normal levels of metals in their body. In some people large cysts known as pseudo-tumors can occur as the cobalt and chromium levels build up.