Study Reveals Shocking Statistics on Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Early Failure Rates

By Sarah Mirando | September 11, 2012

Category: Pharmaceuticals

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Study Reveals Shocking Statistics on Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Early Failure Rates

By Andrea Gressman

metal on metal hip implant class action lawsuit settlement There have been a number of studies that have showed links between metal-on-metal hip replacement implants and the painful side effects that they have been known to cause. However, up until recently, there were not any studies that targeted the failure of these all-metal hip implants as precisely as a new study released by Orthopedics medical journal.

Shocking Statistics Concerning Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants’ Lack of Success

In a July 2012 metal-on-metal hip implant study, researchers determined that over three quarters of all metal hip implant devices have failed in less than a two-year period after they were initially implanted. However, the shocking news doesn’t stop there. It was also determined that 98% of the patients involved in the study required revision surgery within a 3-year period of receiving the original metal hip implant. This study evaluated metal-on-metal hip implant devices like the DePuy Pinnacle and DePuy ASR hip implant systems.

The data was collected from a total of 80 patients that required hip replacement surgeries. The data was then analyzed by researchers who discovered that the high failure rate of these metal-on-metal hip implants was caused by the following reasons:

* Hypersensitivity to the metal in the hip implant
* Failure of the aseptic acetabular loosening shortly after hip implant installation
* Component seizing in the hip implant
* Pseudotumor formation due to the metal hip implant

The most common cause of the early failure rate of metal-on-metal hip implants was the loosening of the acetabular cup. Its failure rate was reported at 56.25%. According to the report: “Of the 45 cups that loosened, 35 (78%) were Durom acetabular cups (Zimmer). The second most common cup that experienced aseptic loosening was the ASR cup (DePuy), with 4 (9%) failed cups. The remainder of the cups that loosened were 2 (4.4%) Magnum cups (Biomet), 2 (4.4%) Pinnacle cups (DePuy), 1 (2.2%) Conserve cup (Wright Medical), and 1 (2.2%) unknown cup.”

Metal Shavings Causing Serious Side Effects in Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Patients

It was also reported that there was evidence found to support conclusions previously made that determined metal-on-metal hip implants actually shed metal shavings into the body of the hip implant patient. This is caused by the rubbing between the metal-on-metal hip implant sockets and has caused a great deal of concern for the researches.

This study revealed that the metal debris is linked to metallosis. This is a metal poisoning in the blood as well as the surrounding tissue in the hip area. In fact, there was another British study that linked these metal shavings to an increased hip implant side effect risk of bladder cancer and kidney cancer.

According to the Orthopedic study, 12.5% of the patients developed “significant metallosis or significantly involved local tissue changes due to the metal debris seen during revision surgery.” Despite these initial findings, later testing of the tissue — including intraoperative cultures, cell count, and frozen sections — came back with negative result for metallosis.

The study collected data from metal hip implant patients’ ages 31 to 84 years and included 39 women and 41 men. It is important to note that each of the patients studied later had to undergo metal hip implant revision surgeries.

DePuy Orthapaedics, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, manufactures two of the acetabular cups that were reported to have early loosening. It is no surprise, then, that DePuy has been hit with thousands of defective ASR hip implant lawsuits. In August 2012, DePuy issued a recall of its metal-on-metal DePuy ASR hip replacement system. In the DePuy ASR recall, over 93,000 ASR hip implants around the world were affected. However, the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant is still on the market even though studies like the one covered today have established numerous health side effects.

It has been reported that the first federal DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit trials could begin as early as March 2013, while there is a September 2014 start date for trials regarding Pinnacle hip implant lawsuits.

If you or someone you love has experienced side effects due to a metal-on-metal hip implant, contact a metal-on-metal hip implant attorney right away. Whether you have experienced hypersensitivity to the metal in the hip implant, failure of the aseptic acetabular loosening shortly after the hip implant installation, component seizing in the hip implant, pseudotumor formation due to the metal hip implant, metallosis or some other metal hip implant side effect, it is imperative that your rights are protected. Visit the DePuy, Biomet, Wright Medical & Others Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Class Action Lawsuit Investigation today to receive a free legal review of your claims.

Updated September 11th, 2012

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