Tag Archives: Hip replacement

You mean they didn’t do that already?

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Hip joints are important.  Not just to be seen at on the weekends with all the cool kids, but more importantly, to help in walking and stability.  (See what I did there?)

Artificial hip maker Johnson & Johnson knew 40% of its hip implants would fail within in five years.  These are hip joints where metal contacts with metal, causing pain and metal ions to be shaved off into the blood stream.  Even though it knew this, the corporation continued to sell the defective hips to consumers.

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Under a new proposal, makers of artificial hips would now have to prove they were safe BEFORE they could selling existing hips or obtain approval for new all-metal designs.  Darn regulations!

What does this mean to you:

Insurance companies and corporations like Johnson & Johnson hide evidence and information that makes them look bad.  (Read: causes them to actually be accountable for the injuries they cause.)  Talk to a lawyer before ever attempting to communicate or negotiate with one of these companies.

 

We don’t know what we – I mean, you – are talking about

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Baby Boomers appear to be here to stay.  I mean, they even have their own Association now, so you know they’re going to stick around and ask for stuff.  Stuff like hip implants that don’t fail after being implanted, causing pain, swelling, and metal on metal friction to throw off chromium and cobalt ions in to their blood streams.  Some people!  For what it’s worth, the medical research surrounding metal ions is ongoing, but as far as I know, no doctors have started prescribing chromium and cobalt ions to be taken once daily by mouth along with your Flintstones.

Doh!

But, the maker of many hip implants, a company called DePuy (pronounced “Dapew”) who is owned by Johnson & Johnson, knew for quite a while that its ASR hip implants were failing.  It was recently learned that, rather than tell the FDA of the product’s defects, or make a change to its design, or immediately recall the device, DePuy opted merely to not make any more ASR hips, but continue to sell the problematic hips it had remaining.

What does this meant to you:

Many times, patients may not know the brand or model of the particular implant they have.  That is, a person may have a DePuy ASR and not even know it.  If you’re having problems, its important to check with your doctor to see which type you have, and if need be, discuss it with a lawyer.