As DePuy hip recall attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia, we have been posting topical information for potential DePuy hip recall patients interested in the “goings on” of how some 93,000 DePuy hip implants have been recalled. Today’s DePuy hip recall post discusses the history of not just DePuy hip implants, but hip implants in general. We’ll briefly trace the evolution of joint replacement surgery up and through the present day where we have many many different manufacturers (i.e, DePuy, Zimmer, Stryker, etc.) making artificial joint replacement parts for nearly every joint in the body.
Joint Replacements From 1960 to Present
Research shows that the first hip replacement surgery was performed in 1960. Back then, hip replacement surgery was considered somewhat controversial as many patients and doctors believed that a body’s own bones and joints could not be improved by using artificial implants. However, improvements in surgical techniques and advances in the medical technologies have dramatically improved over the last 50 years. Now, nearly all orthopaedic surgeons and patients acknowledge that total hip replacement surgery is a safe, effective, and common method to help patients with hip, knee, and other debilitating joint problems.
In fact, some hip replacement surgeons have argued that hip implant and joint replacement surgery is one of the most important surgical advances over the last century. Because of its popularity, and potential profitability, hip manufacturers such as DePuy, Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer, and others have been competing to capture this potentially lucrative market. Unfortunately, as has been suggested with DePuy, sometimes manufacturers are in such a rush to roll out a “new and improved” implant device, they fail to properly test whether the hip, knee, or other joint implant is better than those that already existed on the market.
In addition, manufacturers such as DePuy have the economic incentive to prematurely push a product on the market to prevent its competitors from either putting an identical product on the market, or putting a product they claim to be better. Here, there are some studies that suggest DePuy’s chromium on cobalt design was not fully studied and perhaps rushed to market. As a result, the failure rate for the DePuy hip implants is much greater than its competitors. Now, DePuy has to recall nearly 93,000 defective hip implants that were placed in patients. These DePuy hip recall patients will likely require revision surgery and blood monitoring to determine whether or not the chromium and cobalt metals are being leeched into their bloodstream.
DePuy Hip Recall Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia
Although 50 years of medical advances have gone into making hip replacement surgery a benefit to patients, we continue to urge these manufacturers to put safety over profitability when introducing the “new and improved” implant devices.
If you are the recipient of a defective DePuy hip implant, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Our team is a ready and willing to work as hard as needed to earn you the compensation you need and deserve.