metal 42 articles

Dozens of metal-on-metal hip replacement patients in South Yorkshire, Great Britain, are seeking damages from the manufacturers of the hip devices, alleging injuries ranging from device failure to toxic metal poisoning. According to The Star, 34 patients in South Yorkshire are suing DePuy Orthopaedics, maker of the ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing systems, which the company recalled in August 2010 after medical data indicated a staggering number of the devices failed prematurely. Since then, patients have reported myriad problems, including intense pain, dislocation, immobility, bone fracture, muscle and tissue decay, nausea, and other severe complications linked to hip devices ... Read More

Steve Lorenz has always been active, but the 52-year-old foreman’s life changed after he had both his hips replaced. The surgery was intended to restore his active lifestyle, but it ended up causing him more discomfort and poisoning his blood. Steve was one of an estimated 93,000 people worldwide who received the ASR XL Acetabular hip replacement system made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, DePuy Orthopaedics. Unlike traditional hip implants which are made of plastic or ceramic parts, the DePuy device was made with all metal parts. Designed to be more durable, the implant proved to fail at a higher ... Read More

Plaintiffs from four states filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, and related companies in a Madison County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court June 29, seeking damages from injuries allegedly caused by metal hip implants made by DePuy. According to the complaint, 21 plaintiffs from California, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri underwent hip replacement surgery, receiving DePuy metal-on-metal hip implants. However, the lawsuit alleges, instead of improving their lives, the devices malfunctioned and caused the plaintiffs to experience a spectrum of painful and crippling injuries, including bone and tissue loss, neurological injuries, cancer, liver and kidney damage, and other ... Read More

Orthopedic joint maker Stryker Orthopaedics is recalling its Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II modular neck hip stems because the parts may fret or corrode at the neck junction, which may cause pain and/or swelling. Some patients may even suffer from blood poisoning and require painful revision surgery to remove and replace their devices. Blood poisoning from corroding artificial hip implants was thought to be a problem only associated with metal-on-metal hip replacement systems. However, the newly recalled Stryker hip implant is not made from all metal parts, but does have metal components. It is being recalled because it is causing similar ... Read More

In June, medical technology corporation Smith & Nephew announced it is recalling its R3 Acetabular System, an optional metal liner component usually used in conjunction with stemmed total hip implants. This latest recall adds to growing fears over the high rate of premature failure associated with artificial hip implants made with metal-on-metal components and the speed at which many of these devices were rushed to market. “We regularly review the effectiveness of our products and are not satisfied with the clinical results of this component,” Andy Weymann MD, Smith & Nephew’s Chief Medical Officer said in a statement about the ... Read More

Researchers have a better understanding of why patients often suffer from inflammation and other long-term, chronic illnesses after being implanted with artificial hip devices made from all metal parts, such as the ASR hip implants recalled by DePuy Orthopaedics in August 2010. Researchers from Ohio State University and Imperial College London have combined high-resolution X-ray technology and electron microscopy to study the inflamed tissue surrounding the metal-on-metal hip devices implanted in patients. Their study, published in the journal Chemical Communications, found that inflammation occurs when Cobalt2+ ions are shed by the cobalt-chromium implants into the surrounding tissue. Previous studies have ... Read More

Medical device experts found few reasons why all-metal artificial hips should remain an option for patients based on growing evidence that the metal-on-metal hip implants can fail prematurely and expose patients to dangerous metals. The expert panel was charged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recommend guidelines for the metal medical devices. The agency does not always follow the advice of its advisory panels, but it usually does. Hip implants are traditionally made with ceramic or plastic parts, but newer models have been made with all metal parts. The design was meant to be more durable and allow ... Read More

Canadian regulators have issued a new alert for patients who have been implanted with metal-on-metal hip devices, advising them to watch for certain signs that could indicate the implants are failing. Prompted by growing concerns over the safety of hip implant devices made of all-metal components, Health Canada says that patients who have received such implants should “be on the lookout for pain the groin, hip or leg, swelling at or near the hip joint, or onset of a limp or change in walking ability or limited range of motion,” according to The Canadian Press. Much of the concern about ... Read More

The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a safety warning for MITCH TRH acetabular cups and MITCH TRH modular heads – a metal-on-metal hip implant system manufactured by U.K.-based Finsbury Orthopaedics, a division of DePuy Orthopaedics. Both companies are owned by healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson. The MITCH TRH System is a metal-on-metal hip replacement system consisting of components that can be used in different combinations to carry out either hip resurfacing arthroplasty or total hip replacement. In the new Medical Device Alert, MHRA regulators warn that a higher-than-expected number of DePUY MITCH hip devices ... Read More

The first lawsuits filed against health care giant Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics by plaintiffs alleging injuries caused by DePuy’s metal-on-metal ASR hip devices will go to court this year. About 4,200 lawsuits have been filed against the companies in federal court, with another 2,000 filed in state courts. The first state lawsuits are slated to go to trial in Las Vegas, Nevada, in mid-December 2012, with another trial scheduled for January 2012 in a Maryland state court. Federal lawsuits, which will be tried in U.S. District Court in West Virginia, will probably be heard in March ... Read More