Hip Replacement Surgery
Did you have hip replacement surgery? If you are experiencing severe pain or have been advised to have revision surgery, Call The Yost Legal Group for help today.
Every year, thousands of Americans decide whether or not to undergo hip replacement surgery. When they do, they depend on medical professionals and healthcare device manufacturers to provide them with safe products. Medical devices that should improve their overall quality of life. Unfortunately, hip replacement lawsuits are being filed across the country because of many defective hip implant devices.
Medical device manufacturers advertised metal-on-metal hip replacement systems as modern and effective alternatives to traditional hip replacement surgery. These manufacturers promised patients faster recovery times, increased range of motion, and superior durability.
The most popular metal-on-metal hip replacement systems include:
- Exactech Connexion GXL Polyethylene Liner
- Smith & Nephew Total Hip Replacements (THA)
- Stryker LFITV40
- Depuy Pinnacle with metal liner
- Wright Profemur
- Biomet M2a Magnum
Dangerous Side Effects
Unfortunately, in recent years, it has become apparent that the metal on metal hip implants were not safe, were not effective, and did not improve patients’ overall quality of life. Instead, these hips have caused patients unbearably painful complications that have put the patients’ mobility and well-being at risk. As a result, many patients who received these metal-on-metal hip implants are now facing additional surgeries to revise or replace the defective hips.
In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized that there were “unique risks” associated with metal-on-metal hip implants and ordered all manufacturers to conduct independent studies into how often the devices were failing.
In response to these investigations, many metal-on-metal hip replacement systems were recalled or removed from the market. Unfortunately, this action came too late for hundreds of thousands of patients who discovered that they required revision surgery to address serious side effects associated with metal-on-metal implants.
In fact, it has been discovered that metal-on-metal hip replacement systems often begin to deteriorate more quickly following surgery than systems made with more traditional materials, such as ceramic and plastic. When these devices break down, it does more than just affect the mobility of the patient. The metal-on-metal contact in these devices erodes the replacement joints, releasing harmful metallic ions into the patient’s bloodstream.
This condition, known as Metallosis, can cause a wide range of dangerous side effects, including:
- Tissue Necrosis, or Tissue Death
- Consistent and Prolonged Hip Pain
- Limp or Inability to Walk Normally
- Joint Swelling
- Pseudotumors or Goiters around the Affected Area
- Rashes
- Abnormal Blood Pressure
- Concentration and Memory Problems
- Depression
- Vertigo
- Partial or Complete Deafness
- Seizures or Tremors
- Heart Failure
Legal Implications
When patients are forced to undergo painful and costly revision surgeries to reverse the effects of their metal-on-metal hip implants, the manufacturers of these defective devices must be held accountable.
It is estimated that roughly 500,000 Americans received these metal-on-metal hip replacement systems, and many manufacturers have already issued recalls to remove these defective products from the market.
Manufacturers have already begun to settle thousands of Hip Replacement Lawsuits filed by patients who were harmed by these devices. Stryker Corporation, for example, announced a settlement agreement back in November 2014 that would pay out an estimated $1 billion to thousands of patients harmed by their product.
Lawsuits against Stryker, Depuy, and other major metal-on-metal hip replacement manufacturers are ongoing, and it is not too late to file suit if you have been harmed by one of these products.
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