Stryker hip replacement surgeries completed since 2001 could include components that include Stryker hip implant defects.

Earlier this year, Stryker Orthopedics issued a voluntary recall of its hip implant heads, specifically the LFIT V40 femoral heads.

Metal Poisoning Only Part of the Problem

The joint where the metal stem and the V40 femoral head meet can cause corrosion, releasing metal debris into the body.

While metal poisoning is a terrible side effect, these Stryker hip implant defects go even further in the LFIT V40 model.

Corrosion where the head and neck pieces of the mechanism meet can corrode to the point of causing catastrophic disassociation.

Even though the alleged defect of the LFIT V40 metal heads can lead to symptoms of metallosis (metal poisoning), the corrosion can lead to a dissociation of the stem and metal head.

There are indications that the stem is too small to properly secure the head.

The stems are made with rough surfaces designed to encourage the patient’s bone to grow into the stem to stabilize the mechanism. The stem is then a permanent part of the femur bone that means the femur most often requires being fractured in order to remove the defective parts.

When the stem has been in place long enough to have bone grown deeply into it, the operation becomes complicated and many surgeons refuse to attempt removal.

Sometimes, the femur has to be cut in half in order to remove the stem. Wires and cables are used to repair the femur and prepare it for a replacement stem.

Revision surgery doesn’t solve all the patient’s problems. Metal wear debris can cause permanent damage to soft tissue, muscle and bone. Metal debris is so small and travels so easily through the tissues that surgeons cannot remove all of it.

None of the products in the Stryker metal-on-metal hip implant recall were removed from shelves because all of them had either been implanted or had expired. The recalled V40 devices were manufactured from 2001 through 2011.

Stryker is no stranger to troublesome hip implants.

The Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular hip implant systems caused metallosis, because microscopic particles of metal were being shaved off the parts as they rubbed together within the body, causing cobalt and chromium to leach into patients’ systems.

These Stryker hip implant defects continue with the V40 femoral head. As the metals enter surrounding tissue, the damage progresses to necrosis (tissue death) that causes pain and inflammation.

The LFIT V40 femoral heads that have Stryker hip implant defects were used in conjunction with other Stryker products, including the Accolade TMZF, Hfx, Citation, LASST, Accolade II, Anato, Secur-Fit Advanced, and LSP76.

Some doctors conduct surgery using hip implant parts made by different manufacturers. Depending upon a patient’s specific needs, a surgeon might use interchangeable components made by different companies.

This can sometimes make it difficult to track whose surgeries have included parts with Stryker hip implant defects.

The health journal Orthopedics published a 2012 study that determined 95 percent of patients needed revision surgery within three years when their original metal-on-metal hip replacement surgery failed.

If you have received surgery using components subject to Stryker hip implant defects, you could be eligible for compensation through a class action lawsuit.