Richmond Personal Injury Lawyer

DePuy Hip Failure Rate as High as 49% in U.K.

by admin on 17/03/11 at 1:49 am

On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson, recalled two of its hip replacement systems- the ASR XL Acetabular System (“total hip replacement”) and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System (“hip resurfacing device”).  Both devices use metal balls and sockets.  At the time, DePuy cited unpublished data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales saying that 13% of patients receiving the total hip replacement and 12% of patients receiving the hip resurfacing device would need to have the devices removed and replaced (“revision surgery”).

Only the total hip replacement system was approved for sale in the United States.

Many scientists disputed DePuy’s estimates as being way too low.  About 93,000 patients received one of the two implants.  Under DePuy’s estimates, approximately 12,000 would require revision surgery within 5 years of implantation. 

The British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society said in a statement this week that data on the ASR XL Acetabular System, the DePuy total hip replacement system, from four surgeons show the rate of revision surgeries ranges from 21 percent after four years to 49 percent after six years.  The statement, obtained by Bloomberg News, was presented last week to the British Hip Society Annual Conference.

“It’s probably the best indicator so far of what the failure rate is likely to be,” John Skinner, an orthopedic surgeon and chairman of the groups’ expert advisory group on metal bearing hips, said in a telephone interview. “As far as I can tell, it’s reliable.” Skinner said the data haven’t undergone peer review required for publication.

The British groups’ statement also said that “the use of large diameter metal-on-metal bearings in primary total hip replacement should be carefully considered and possibly avoided.”

DePuy announced last week that its president, David Floyd, resigned to “pursue other interests.”

In the U.S.,  Johnson & Johnson and DePuy face over 350 federal lawsuits which have been consolidated into a Mult District Litigation in Ohio, 220 state court lawsuits pending in California where some of the DePuy implant developers reside, and hundreds more cases in New Jersey, where J&J is located.  A 49% failure rate means big problems for DePuy, as approximately 46,000 patients may be facing premature revision surgery.  

DePuy was purchase by J&J in 1998 to compete with Smith & Nephew Plc, a British device manufacturer.  In 1997, Smith & Nephew introduced the Birmingham Hip Replacement (“BHR”) metal-on-metal total hip replacement system.  The developer of the BHR, who has since left Smith & Nephew, has opined that he believes the failure rate for the DePuy hip implants will be closer to 100%.