The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Discusses Problems with Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements at Annual Conference

The Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons was held in San Francisco, California on February 7-11, 2012.  A significant portion of the conference was spent discussing Metal-on-Metal hip replacements, their problems, and the “Current Status and Recommendations for Patient Management.”  Several of the nation’s premier orthopaedic surgeons can be seen discussing metal-on-metal hips at the link below.

Of interest, all members of the panel agreed that there is no indication for the use of Metal-on-Metal total hip implants.  Meaning that from the perspective of some of the most innovative and well know orthopaedic surgeons in the US and Great Britain, there is no reason to ever implant in a patient a Metal-on-Metal total hip implant.  What is shocking is that even Dr. Thomas Schmalzreid, the designer of the recalled DePuy ASR Total Hip System, agreed that there is no clinical use for the Metal-on-Metal total hip implant.

This opinion was echoed by the recommendation made in the Lancet, the preeminent British medical Journal.  In March of this year, the Lancet reported that Metal-on-Metal stemmed total hip implant systems should not be used and that those that have received Metal-on-Metal total hip replacements should be carefully monitored.

Numerous companies, including Wright Medical Technology, Zimmer, Biomet and Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopedics Division are facing lawsuits from patients who claim they suffered severe pain, swelling, tissue damage, metal poisoning and other complications after receiving a metal-on-metal hip replacement system.  Pope McGlamry has been pursuing claims for clients implanted with metal-on-metal implants, including the Johnson & Johnson/DePuy Orthopaedics ASR Implant and Wright Medical’s Conserve Hip Implant System.

If you or a loved one have a hip implant and have suffered complications, or experienced a hip replacement failure requiring revision surgery, you may be entitled to recover significant damages from the defective product manufacturer. The lawyers at Pope, McGlamry, Kilpatrick, Morrison & Norwood, P.C., are actively handling claims for you injury and loss.