Users’ Metal Poisoning Sparks Problems for Johnson & Johnson

DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, recently recalled their ASR hip implant due to the ineffectiveness and possible danger related to the metal-on-metal ball joint of the device. Whether the design process was flawed or the problems are simply a result of negligence remains to be seen. However, it is the case that the artificial joints, due to the way they scrape together as the patient moves, create a buildup of metallic dust within the socket, resulting in metal poisoning, or metallosis. Metal poisoning causes irritation, pain, and swelling in the tissue and flesh around the affected joint. It can also cause other complications, such as bone loss.
Although cobalt is found naturally in the body, the high concentrations of it that lead to metal poisoning have the potential to cause permanent bodily harm in sufferers of the condition. Side effects of metal poisoning related to cobalt include depression, hearing loss, fatigue, tinnitus (ringing of the ears), loss of coordination, headaches, and nerve damage – among many other serious side effects. It can also cause diseases of the heart muscle, seizures, and even heart failure. These complications can make a revision surgery, or a second surgery designed to help the patient by replacing the hip replacement system, even more difficult and dangerous to perform.
A healthy adult body will store about 1mg of cobalt in the bloodstream, but patients of the hip replacement system have been found to have between 100 and 500 times that amount in their body. Unfortunately for patients, many doctors were unaware of these potential side effects involved in the replacement system, and simply could not warn their patients adequately. In addition, there is evidence that an improper clinical trial was conducted by DePuy Orthopaedics before their release of the device. Medical professionals are recommending that any DePuy ASR hip replacement system patients get their blood tested for increased cobalt levels as soon as possible, in order to prevent serious complications in the future.