Millions of Americans are forced to undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) each year for arthritic or trauma induced joint conditions. For those that have implanted with the DePuy ASR hip prosthetic, a surgical ‘redo’ known as a total hip revision is purportedly needed sooner and more often due to reported complications of varying intensity.

The DePuy ASR hip prosthetic was recalled in the late summer of 2010 and is the subject of thousands of lawsuits in which plaintiffs have complained of the implant’s failure and the necessity of having it removed and replaced in a total hip revision surgery.

What is THA?

THA is an invasive procedure where the top of the upper leg bone, or ball of the hip joint, is amputated and replaced with a prosthetic femur head. The prosthetic femur head is attached to the leg bone via a stem that is implanted into the bone. This stem is either designed to grow into the weight-bearing thigh bone or is cemented into it.

Also, during THA, the cavity in the pelvic cage that interfaces with the ball of the femur is resurfaced with an acetabular cup and liner. These new parts stack together, mimicking the natural hip and supposedly allowing for smooth joint movement and ambulation.

What are the Alleged Complications with the DePuy ASR Hip Prosthetic?

The DePuy ASR hip prosthetic is a metal-on-metal product in which the femur head makes direct contact with a metal acetabular liner and cup, respectively. The reported complications resulting from this system allegedly stem from the shedding of metal debris and metal toxins into tissues around the joint and the bloodstream.

Total hip revision is purportedly needed more often due to the DePuy ASR hip prosthetic because the presence of the friction-related debris can contribute to prosthetic failure in a variety of ways.

Psuedotumors or noncancerous growths can also develop in the tissues surrounding the metal debris and cause chronic and debilitating pain and inflammation. The growths can also lead to joint dislocation, potential fracture, and tissue death which can include part of the bone.

When a total hip revision is undertaken to address these problems, adherence of a second prosthetic may be compromised if bone loss has been significant.

High blood levels of chromium and cobalt from a metal-on-metal hip prosthetic like the DePuy ASR is a condition known as metallosis. Metallosis has been linked to the development of certain types of cancer and degenerative heart disease.

If the blood toxicity is discovered prior to these disease states evolving, total hip revision with a ceramic or plastic-lined acetabular cup is a necessity.

The DePuy Orthopedics Co. discovered that 13% of ASR hips failed according to the United Kingdom (UK) joint registry—a finding which caused them to initiate the 2010 recall that affected 37,000 implants domestically and 93,000 globally.

Two years after the recall, DePuy’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson Inc. settled three lawsuits for involving the ASR hip prosthetic for $600,000. There is a new settlement offer for implant recipients forced to have total hip revision due to ASR failure after March 2015.

If you or a loved one experienced ASR hip prosthetic failure after this date, fill out our form for a free initial evaluation of your case. One of our expert product liability attorneys will be in touch shortly.