Medical malpractice lawyers have recently learned that Smith & Nephew PLC has announced that it will withdraw a metal liner used for its R3 Acetabular System hip replacements from the market. The company said that it is “not satisfied with the clinical results” of the liner because some patients have required an additional surgery to have the liner removed. Smith & Nephew introduced the hip replacement liner in 2009. Since that time, about 7,700 patients have had them implanted. According to Smith & Nephew, patients who have not experienced problems do not need to have the liner removed. The majority of the R3 Acetabular System hip replacement liners were used in stemmed total hip replacements.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers Express Concern Regarding Increasing Hip Replacement Device Recalls
Complaints about failed hip replacement devices have continued to indicate that patients are experiencing serious problems with certain types of artificial hips. In the past two years, the Food and Drug Administration has received more than thousands of reports about popular devices known as metal-on-metal hips, including the A.S.R. or Articular Surface Replacement manufactured by the DePuy division of Johnson & Johnson, the Zimmer Durom Cup, and implants made by Stryker Orthopedics. Smith & Nephew now joins this list with their latest recall.
In many cases, the all-metal devices were sold without testing in patients or without a requirement that producers track their performance. However, complaints from patients indicate many of them had the all-metal hip devices removed because they failed after only a few years. Typically, replacement hips last 15 years or more.
Metal-on-metal hip replacements can cause devastating injuries as many patients have suffered injuries as a result of tiny particles of cobalt and chromium that the metal devices shed as they wear. Common injuries are damaged muscles and other soft tissue, severe inflammation or the need for additional surgery, also called a revision.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Philadelphia and New Jersey
The Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Messa & Associates are experienced at handling cases involving medical malpractice cases resulting from medical errors and defective medical devices. Our extremely skilled team of medical malpractice lawyers and medical experts is dedicated to ensuring you receive proper compensation for your personal injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered personal injuries as a result of a medical error, defective medical device or any other type of negligent care received by a medical provider, contact the medical malpractice lawyers of Messa & Associates for a free consultation. Call toll free at 1-877-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry.
Our nations’ nursing homes are in dire need of help. Every day, 
The team of med students and medical professionals aimed to discover how honest doctors believe they should be, and in turn actually are, with their patients. The survey was carried out in 2009 and involved almost 1,900 practicing doctors from the United States.
A mass recall of defective birth control pills could result in unwanted pregnancies for the women taking the recalled Pfizer birth control pills. Pfizer recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets after discovering some of the blister packs may contain either too many or too few active pills and that the pills may be out of sequence. About one million packets of birth control pills are being recalled because of the error that could cause unintended pregnancies. 
Point-Of-Care: The Journal of Near-Patient Testing & Technology released a special issue last month highlighting the need for increased vigilance to medical errors related to POCT. The issue contains editorials, research studies, and case reports that provide an overview of the policies in place for other medical providers which assist in assuring patient safety.