A married couple from Ohio filed a new lawsuit against the Howmedica Osteonics Corp. after the company initiated a Stryker metal hip recall of their LFIT V40 CoCr femoral head prosthetic.

According to the LFIT V40 lawsuit, plaintiff Susan G. had her right hip replaced in a total hip arthroplasty (THA) on March 19, 2012. In consultation with her orthopedic surgeon and based upon the advertising and warranties of the defendant, the decision was made to implant her with an LFIT V40 CoCr femoral head with an Accolade TMZF femoral stem.

Susan says she suffered grave injury related to the choice of femoral head and stem, but lived with the implant until it became completely necessary to have it removed and replaced. The explantation of the prosthetic components was eventually completed on April 20, 2018—a mere six years after the initial surgery.

Susan’s short form complaint indicates that she couldn’t have been aware that the pain and swelling and other symptoms she experienced at the joint site were related to hip prosthetic component failure until she received notice that the defendant had recalled the LFIT V40 femoral head.

It is also states that she couldn’t have known that she also suffered from a common metal-on-metal hip prosthetic ailment known as metallosis, save for a positive blood test taken to test for excessive levels of cobalt and chromium.

The Stryker Metal Hip Recall

The defendant issued a Stryker metal hip recall of the implanted device in the late summer of 2016. The Stryker metal hip recall, according to the FDA, was due to the defendant receiving numerous complaints from patients experiencing taper lock failure—or loosening at the junction of the LFIT V40 femoral head and associated femoral stem.

The recall covered LFIT V40 femoral heads of several different sizes and catalog numbers. The Stryker metal hip recall affected 42,519 units in commercial circulation both in the U.S. and globally.

What is Metallosis?

Metallosis is a condition often associated with the implantation of medical devices such as the LFIT V40 CoCr femoral head. Hip implant components that use this design may leach metal debris into the surrounding tissue causing pseudotumors, pain, and inflammation.

The presence of the debris eventually caused an elevation in blood levels of heavy metals—a condition which could lead to cancer or a rare form of heart disease if left attended.

Metallosis can contribute to the disease or death of critical tissues which hold a prosthetic implant in place. This situation increases the risk involved in having a revision surgery whereby a new prosthetic must be implanted and sustained.

The Howmedica Osteonics Metal Hip Lawsuit is Case No. 1:19-cv-10134 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.