The DePuy ASR hip replacement prosthetic has had significant complications that have led to recipients back to the operating rooms of orthopedic surgeons to have them removed.

The ASR in DePuy ASR hip stands for “articular surface replacements,” which refers to the components used in total hip arthroscopy to repair a diseased or otherwise damaged and ill-functioning hip joint.

The DePuy ASR hip prosthetic is a metal-on-metal joint unit featuring femoral head and stem and acetabular cup with no polyethylene lining.

Severe problems resulting from this implant led to a recall in August of 2010 by Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary, DePuy Orthopedics. The recall came after a study had indicated an approximate failure rate of 13% of recipients.

This meant that one out of every eight patients receiving this prosthetic implant needed to have DePuy ASR hip revision surgery. The revision surgery usually resulted in removal and replacement with a metal-on-plastic or metal-on-ceramic prosthetic. The recall also came a year and a half after the first lawsuit was filed against Johnson and Johnson for problems associated with the prosthetic.

The DePuy ASR hip implant became available in U.S. markets in 2005 through the Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) program. This program makes it much easier for medical device companies to get products to market.

It allows for special clearance if a manufacturer can prove substantial equivalence of their device to one already available commercially. It is essentially a piggy-backing process whereby one device that has gone through clinical trials and safety testing vouches for another that has not.

Like other metal-on-metal hip prosthetics, the DePuy ASR hip was found through post-market experience to produce metal debris from the constant friction which would build up in and around the artificial joint.

The build-up would leak chromium and cobalt into the blood and raise the levels of these metals dangerously. This increase in blood levels of metals has been linked to the eventual development of certain cancers and heart disease.

In addition to the above condition known as metallosis, non-cancerous tumors have been known to develop around the site of the prosthesis which can contribute to an overall condition of chronic pain and inflammation as well as bone and tissue loss, fracture, and dislocation.

Because of these issues, Johnson and Johnson is facing thousands of DePuy ASR hip implant and DePuy Pinnacle acetabular cup system lawsuits. A few of these lawsuits were taken care of by a $600,000 settlement negotiated in the summer of 2012.

The recipients of divided settlements had had to undergo hip revision surgery early and have the prosthetic removed due to pain, inflammation, and other chronic indications of failure.

The average pay-out was limited and short of what most product liability lawyers believe is fair compensation in the light of the pain and suffering many have experienced.

If you or a loved one have had to undergo revision surgery since March 2015 for a faulty DePuy ASR hip, you may qualify to claim benefits under the DePuy ASR settlement. A consultation with a products liability lawyer can guide you through the process of claiming benefits.