Many patients who have received Stryker hip implants have reported severe complications. As a result, the Stryker femoral head recall was put into place by Stryker so that more patients did not suffer the consequences of a potentially defective medical device.

The Stryker femoral head, as part of the Accolade hip replacement system, has been fraught with complications for patients. Reported complications with the Stryker hip system including the femoral head include the shedding of bits of metal into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream near the implant site.

Metal-on-metal hip replacement systems, like the Accolade, often have been associated with problems. The constant rubbing of the metal femoral head on the inside of the metal acetabular cup can shed metal and essentially poison the tissue. This condition is called metallosis and can lead to tissue death.

Some hazards that Stryker has warned patients and doctors about with the Stryker femoral head recall include the disassociation of the femoral head from the hip stem, a fractured hip stem trunnion, excessive metallic debris, insufficient soft tissue tension, noise, a loss of bone fixation strength, excessive wear debris, and implant construction with a shortened neck length.

Additionally, problems behind the Stryker femoral head recall include patients reporting loss of mobility, pain, dislocation, joint instability, leg length discrepancy, loosening of the implant, annoyance, adverse local tissue reaction, inflammation and fracture. These problems can ultimately lead to the need for revision surgery which is costly and associated with more risks than the original arthroplasty surgery.

Because of these problems and because Stryker received more complaints than normal, Stryker chose to announce the Stryker femoral head recall. This Stryker femoral head recall specifically affected the LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral heads.

Stryker suggested that all hospitals and medical institutions check their inventories to see if any of their devices fall underneath the Stryker femoral head recall.

The LFIT femoral heads did not go through a traditional approval process but were fast tracked by the FDA, which means that as other similar devices were approved, the LFIT femoral heads were approved by proving “substantial equivalence (SE) to a legally marketed device.”

This Stryker femoral head recall was issued in 2016.

Other Stryker Hip Recalls

This isn’t the only time that Stryker has had to recall a metal-on-metal hip device. In fact, of hip manufacturers, Stryker made the greatest number of hip product recalls between 2002 and 2013. They made 231 separate recalls associated with hip replacement products during this time.

Previous to the 2016 Stryker femoral head recall, Stryker recalled the Rejuvenate and ABG II hip systems because their metal necks were prone to corrosion and fretting. Reports found that excessive metal could be released into the body tissue surrounding the implant injuring the patient.

If you or someone you love has experienced severe problems associated with a Styrker hip system like the Accolade, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit. It is wise to discuss with your doctor if your hip implant falls within the Stryker femoral head recall.

While legal compensation cannot take away the pain and suffering associated with a defective hip replacement device, it can help alleviate medical costs and lost wages.