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The DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Device’s Badly Designed Components

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Rottenstein Law GrouP, Source - click here

The August 2010 DePuy ASR recall came after the company reported 12-13% of patients receiving the product required a revision surgery to correct a failure of the device. These failures caused serious disruptions in the lives of the patients, as they result in an inability to carry on everyday activities without serious pain. The statistics have been talked about at length and the people who suffered due to the product’s bad design are well documented, but what is it exactly about the components of DePuy’s ASR that caused its repeated failure?

A hip replacement device is a complex mechanism but boiled down, there are two large components: the acetabular cup component, which replicates the “socket” part of the hip and the femoral component, which is attached to the end of the femur and fits into the acetabular cup while allowing for a fluid range of motion. Together the two components work together to synthesize a hip joint and if designed properly, hip replacement devices can be expected to last over 15 years.

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.

The ASR’s femoral component is not without fault in the product’s failure. Reportedly, the ball was designed to be too large given the size of the socket, which is essentially the same issue as the one previously discussed, just in the context of the head of the femoral component. 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 to flake off and potentially causing the patient metal toxicity.

The ASR hip replacement parts recall that occurred in August 2010 has given those who have been harmed by the product’s failure an avenue for legal recourse. If you have suffered pain, loosening, or required revision surgery of your ASR device, fill out this contact form for a free consultation with a Rottenstein Law Group attorney regarding a potential ASR compensation lawsuit.

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