Recent documents published on DePuy's website shed light on one of DePuy's main concerns following the recall of its ASR hip implant: the risk of bone erosion due to metal ion release. While some bone erosion is typical with a failed DePuy ASR hip implant, a major problem is that basic cell function in the body could lead to runaway bone loss, an issue DePuy is no doubt concerned about. Our firm has received preliminary reports that the bone loss in some ASR hip implant patients has reached the point where their hip cannot be surgically "revised." These patients face the prospect of spending the remainder of their lives in wheelchairs.
DePuy Orthopaedics (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) designed, made and sold the ASR "metal-on-metal" hip implant. Most of DePuy's hip implant sales and surgeries in the United States started in 2005 and ended in early 2010, when the New York Times published articles showing that DePuy had made a considerable number of reports to the FDA about problems with its ASR hip implant. Five months after these articles were published, in August 2010, the company recalled the DePuy ASR hip implant.
But when DePuy launched the ASR hip implant for sale in the United States five years ago, several leading orthopedic experts warned DePuy that the ASR hip implant would generate unsafe levels of metal debris and that patients' bodies might react unfavorably.
Complications That Arise From DePuy ASR Hip Implant
The primary metals DePuy used to make the ASR hip implant were chromium and cobalt. Tests done with patients who have received the DePuy ASR hip implant indicate that they often have extremely elevated levels of metallic ions from chromium and cobalt in their blood.
It is believed that some DePuy ASR patients respond to the metal debris by producing excess osteoclasts. Osteoclasts are a type of bone cell whose function is to break down the cells that make up bone, a process called bone resorption. The presence of metallic debris triggers the production of more osteoclasts, which not only attack the metallic DePuy ASR hip implant debris, but also the bone that surrounds the device. Over time, the osteoclasts group into large white blood cells called macrophages, all while destroying more healthy bone tissue.
With the defective DePuy ASR hip implant, this can lead to a debilitating outcome. If the body produces too many osteoclasts and macrophages in response to the DePuy ASR's metal ion debris, the resulting bone destruction could be so extensive that there is no longer enough bone to serve as an anchor for another acetebular cup. The result is a frightening one: permanent disability and use of a wheelchair because revision is no longer possible.
Doctors Concerned About Defective DePuy Hip Implants
DePuy is understandably worried about the extensive injuries that could be caused by the defective ASR hip implant. As a result, DePuy sent an urgent letter to orthopedic surgeons who implanted the ASR, asking them to screen ASR hip implant patients for excess metal ions in their bloodstream. If a patient's metallic ion levels are too high, surgical revision may be necessary before too much bone loss occurs.
In preparing our DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits, Walkup lawyers have spoken to a number of orthopedic surgeons who have both implanted and explanted the defective DePuy ASR hip implant. Most are understandably upset about what has happened to their patients--particularly after receiving DePuy's letter about the risks presented by metal ion release.
Call the law office of Walkup Melodia toll-free at (888) 799-3968, or contact us online. We handle DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits in California and nationwide.
