Patients are aware that knee implant surgery can bring with it some serious complications, but what many people don’t know is that it’s not just the devices themselves that pose a risk. Indeed, the bone cement used to adhere the implant to the bone may fail, posing further risk of device failure and loosening.

If you have suffered from bone cement side effects like aseptic loosening or device failure, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Bone Cement Basics

Essentially, bone cement is a substance used during knee replacements to help the artificial joints of the replacement device bond with the bone, and is meant to keep the implant in place over a long period of time.

But a growing number of knee implant patients are claiming that the bone cement used during their surgery was defective, leading to the device loosening are failing not long after the knee implant surgery itself, and in many cases requiring revisions surgery.

Bone Cement Side Effects

There are several types of bone cement: low, medium and high viscosity. The type most often associated with early knee replacement failure is high viscosity.

High viscosity cement has been linked with aseptic tibial loosening—that is, loosening of the knee implant without infection. Aseptic loosening may occur if the bone cement fragments or suddenly breaks from its bond with the bone.

A 2016 knee replacement report from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (BNBI) found that high viscosity cement, unlike low or medium viscosity cement, was linked with an increased risk of device failure.

High viscosity bone cement from a number of manufacturers is currently under investigation, including the following:

• Howmedica Simplex HV Cement (Stryker/Howmedica)
• Cobalt Bone Cement (Biomet/DJO Surgical)
• DePuy CMW 1 Bone Cement
• SmartSet Bone Cement (DePuy)

More and more patients are claiming that the bone cement used during their knee replacement surgeries has led to device failure within three years of the surgery itself, often requiring revision surgery to fix. Of course, revision surgery brings with it further risk of side effects or infection, as well as further medical expenses.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Bone Cement Side Effects

In the growing pile of bone cement litigation, patients allege that bone cement used for their knee replacement was defective, leading to serious complications. In many cases, patients were forced to undergo revision surgery not long after the initial surgery took place.

Lawsuits claim that the manufacturers of bone cement product failed to warn patients and the medical community about the risks associated with the material.

One lawsuit, filed in 2018, alleges that DePuy’s SmartSet HV Bone Cement is defective, causing knee implant loosening and requiring revision surgery approximately one year after initial implantation surgery. The lawsuit alleges that the bone cement was approved through the FDA fast-track approval process, thereby avoiding the most rigorous testing.

If you or someone you love has suffered from defective bone cement side effects, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. While filing a lawsuit cannot undo the pain and suffering caused by these complications, it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses and lost wages.