A plaintiff, Susan L., has filed a lawsuit in the District of Colombia federal court against the manufacturer of the LFIT V40, Howmedica Osteonics and Stryker Orthopaedics.

According to the Stryker LFIT V40 problems lawsuit, Susan L., is a resident of the state of Maryland. She was allegedly implanted with the Stryker LFIT V40 femoral head and a Stryker Accolade Stem.

However, soon after the product’s implantation, she says she began to suffer injuries because of the medical device.

The Stryker LFIT V40 problems lawsuit states that Susan “suffered and continues to suffer injuries as a result of the failure of the hip system, including undergoing a surgery to remove the defective hip system, in the District of Columbia.”

According to the Stryker LFIT V40 problems lawsuit, there have been several complications reported in conjunction with the LFIT anatomic metal hip implant. The reported complications specifically surround the Stryker LFIT Cobalt/ Chromium V40 Femoral Heads.

The reported adverse side effects and complications include and are not limited to the following: dissociation of femoral head from hip stem, fractured hip stem trunnion, excessive metallic debris, insufficient soft tissue tension, noise, loss of implant: bone fixation strength, excessive wear debris, and implant construct with a shortened neck length.

The Stryker LFIT V40 problems lawsuit raises several issues revolving around the metal-on-metal medical device. It particularly maintains that because of the implant system’s metal acetabular cup and metal femoral stem, the metal parts will fret and cause corrosion and a condition known as metallosis. It is a specific condition in which metal debris that flakes off of the metal parts rubbing together are released into the patient’s bloodstream.

This wearing of metal parts against each other causes the debris of the metal-on-metal medical device to become built up in the patient’s soft tissue. This condition can become very painful, and the soft tissue surrounding the metal-on-metal hip implant device can become damaged and further cause soft tissue growths, swelling, inflammation, and bone loss.

According to the Stryker LFIT V40 problems lawsuit, defendants Styker and Howmedica had both received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008. However, a voluntary recall was announced of another medical device in 2012, following reports similar to those related to the LFIT V40.

The device issued for recall, at the time, however, was the Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular hip replacement system. The voluntary recall was announced after patents had reported of incidences of corrosion. The corrosion that results then leads to “fretting” of the medical hip implant device. This then subjects the patient to metallosis.

According to a report describing a study published in the journal Orthopedics, 95% of patients with failed hip replacement metal-on-metal medical devices have had to undergo revision surgery to alleviate adverse effects and complications within three years.

The Stryker LFIT V40 Problems Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-01578-EGS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.