Metal Toxicity In DePuy Hip Patients Blamed on Bad Design and Bad Components

93,000 recipients worldwide have been informed that their DePuy replacement hip implants are defective and dangerous. The components have come loose, fracturing bone around the implant, depositing metal fragments in one’s tissues and bloodstream. After finally acknowledging that the ASR was prematurely failing in patients at rates completely unacceptable for medical devices, DePuy issued a recall of the product in August of 2010. Data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales found that the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System had a 12% revision rate and the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System had a revision rate of 13%. ASR litigation is still in its early stages, but it is progressing. Just last month, the initial case management conferences were held regarding the consolidated DePuy lawsuits.

Metal-on-metal systems are also able to employ a larger ball component than the traditional system is typically allowed – one much closer in size to the corresponding part of the natural hip joint. This difference is due to the fact that the metal surfacing material may be thinner than that of the plastic surfacing material used in a traditional hip since wear and tear is less a problem. Unfortunately, there is now evidence pointing to the possibility that this metal-on-metal design is resulting in bits of metal flaking off and building up in some patients’ bodies, resulting in DePuy metal poisoning.

The problem with the ASR starts with the acetabular cup component. Reportedly, the cup is too shallow, allowing for insufficient coverage of the ball at the end of the femoral component. In a typical hip replacement device, the ball fits deep into the socket, ensuring that it is firmly held in place. The shallow design of the ASR Acetabular Cup causes the ball to come loose much easier than if it were designed with the appropriate depth. This is allegedly the biggest reason for the high rate of failures in the device. An additional problem with the poor fitting of the ball and socket is that with more of the head exposed, it has reportedly caused corrosion to develop at the neck of the device which leads to metal particles flaking off. Victims suffering from DePuy hip complications should contact an experienced DePuy hip lawyer.