Comments on: Another Smith & Nephew BHR Problem

By: earlstevens58

earlstevens58 — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 21:23:58 +0000

Hi Tawny

sorry to hear about these problems – I have heard some similar things but not regularly.

I will ask Dr Steve for his views.

Earl

By: Tawny

Tawny — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 19:30:56 +0000

Earl,
My husband had both hips removed last year after having awful reactions and very high levels of metal. He had a hard time for a month at a time after each surgery, but then after 5 months of no reactions started getting the reactions again. Not only that, but when her went to his yearly appointment, his Chromium levels had gone up again. Are you finding this to be the case with anyone you have heard from? I don’t know where to turn or what to do.

By: earlstevens58

earlstevens58 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:19:28 +0000

It does seem strange but as I understand it one French company makes all the ceramics for all the companies and so they may be interchangeable?

The good thing is you have ceramic on ceramic like I do. From my own experience this is good.

Earl

By: earlstevens58

earlstevens58 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:17:09 +0000

It does seem a little unusual on the face of it but as I understand it, one French company makes all the ceramics or the various manufacturers. So they may well be interchangeable?

Earl

By: timothy jefferies

timothy jefferies — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:12:30 +0000

Is it ok to use smith and nephew and depuy in the same operation

By: earlstevens58

earlstevens58 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:27:35 +0000

Good grief. S&N have a lot to answer for but they will no doubt say that you are part of the acceptable failure rate, like I was. Cold comfort. I hope you get some relief soon.

Earl

By: timothy jefferies

timothy jefferies — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:15:13 +0000

I was 33 when i had my first hip it was a smith and nephew mom 12 to 16 weeks after i felt a tear in short rotators and my . MY leg be came lame I had a limp i called to my every 2to3 weeks i had all sings of mom poisoning . I must have call to the H.S.E 10 to 15 times but got on were.i called to the of hospital in 2010 and he got to see a surgeon how done mri and blood my bloods were 87nmo/l ao and 78 nmo/l cr test blood was from arm . i had a revision in 10 2011 thay left the smith and nephew stem in and 60mm r3 shell and 36mm smith and nephew ceramic liner and then a depuy boilox detlta articul/eze ceramic femoral head . i have seeing my surgeon 3 times and have had on blood test are mri scan . my left hip has avn and i have a bad back as well . my surgeon wants me to wate as long i can iam know 43 i am

By: Sylina Baron

Sylina Baron — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 08:10:33 +0000

Hi Paul,

I know this is a very old post but as I am also in Reading would love to get in contact to discuss the operations. I had my BHR done in 2009 at RBH under Mr Andrade. I’m having really bad symptoms but feel like I’m being ignored.

Kind regards

Sylina Baron, Reading, UK

sylina2@hotmail.com

By: frances samosa

frances samosa — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:32:46 +0000

I had a BHR in May2008. I was signed of in Nov 2009. In the February I was ill and could not get to see my doctor as two where ill and one on hol. I went away with my knee swollen, back pain, hip pain and could not get out of bed as abdominal pain was too much. I was also going to toilet 3/4 times a night (still am). I have had tingling, pins and needles, deadness in hand and legs to feet. I have been sent for scans on bladder, ovaries, uterus,kidneys. Before I got these I got home from hols and doc gave me pain killers for 4 wks. I was in agony. Went to see another doc and he said I had a bad idney infection and so sent me for kidney scan. Then I had the other scans. I also have been gone over with a tuning fork. When I got back from hols I had a letter from surgeon. He said “we have put the wrong metal in some peoples hips” (wait for it) “but NOT yours”. I had two lots of physio and one to ask if I could have pain killer injections. Answer was NO. I then went to see a lady doctor who sent me for a MRI Scan and 5 blood tests, they came back normal. In the end I ask my doctor to send me to some one who deals in putting these hips in. (As my surgeon said he had to keep an ey on me for the next 5 years, but hospital closed down and never heard a thing)(Why did he have to keep and eye on me if he hadn’t put the wrong metal in????)I got to see a registrar and he sent me for an intense MRI Scan, and 2 bloods (cobalt and Chronium) They came back positive. I have trouble sleeping, can’t turn over. I also one night was lying on my good hip when something woke me up so quick, it was if something had fallen from my right hip to my left hip. Maybe it can’t ?? but I think something might have snapped as my new surgeon said the femural head was too big and infected. I am always tired, blurry eye vision, bad sleep, pain in back, Bhr side and other side, pain down legs. I feel disgusted in the whole thing. I go for my op on 20th September. Heres hoping I feel better after it.

By: Lee Glasson

Lee Glasson — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 23:00:48 +0000

I am 12 weeks post-op today (July 27 2012), following revision surgery of a BHR I received in Dec 2003, at the age of 47. I was advised to go this route as I was young and reasonably active, and the resurfacing would allow for bone stock to remain for the inevitable full replacement down the track. Hmmm.

Since that time I have been getting progressively unwell, with flu-like symptoms, bursitis, inflammation (my fingers look like cocktail franks), failing eye-sight, bladder infections, fluid on both knees and degeneration of the cartilage (4 arthroscopies), mental and physical fatigue, breathlessness, painful incontinence and ‘women’s problems’ that led to a full hysterectomy in Sept 2009, and increasing pain around the effected hip, sometimes popped, seized up or squeaked.

I understand when others on this blog talk about their frustration at not being heard. The doctors I have seen about these various issues do all the usual tests, and then shake their heads and look at me sideways when they can find nothing in the results to explain my symptoms.

Having read about the DuPuy recall and the issue with metal decomposition, I asked my GP to test for Chromium and Cobalt last December. The results showed a Chromium level of 423 nmol/L and Cobalt of 830 nmol/L. A subsequent MRI showed a large pseudo-tumour wrapped around what was left of the femoral neck, and a basically dead bursa. My original surgeon suggested a revision asap, and on the whole has been co-operative.

However, he seems to have adopted the line that the hip didn’t fail because it hadn’t moved or misaligned, and when he removed it it popped out without any great need to hammer away at it (hip surgery is a brutal exercise).

My concern with this attitude, which seems to prevail amongst the medical fraternity, is that it mitigates against the device being recalled. What they should be doing is supporting their patients to instigate a class action against Smith and Nephew who have clearly developed and foisted upon an unsuspecting public, a device that has indeed failed. For it to disintegrate within our bodies, depositing carcinogenic metals that slowly poison us, is a very clear failure.

Then again, maybe they are, but I haven’t heard about it. Has anyone else? especially in Australia?

The last 12 weeks have been a long, slow and painful recovery (and I thought laying on my back for 6 weeks was going to be the biggest nuisance!!) I am still hobbling around on a walking stick, and in great pain (8/10); from the op – in the groin and buttock area, which radiates down the thigh and up into my lower back; and co-incidentally – the rest of my body is aching from hobbling around on a walking stick! In my more optimistic moments I had held out some hope that the symptoms I’d experienced would just go away, once the offending implant was out, but no such luck (apart from the painful incontinence, which is a good thing because I’m still hobbling around on a ^%$@*&^ walking stick!).

I am waiting on the results of yet another blood test to see how well my body is flushing the Co and Cr, and I’m having my 12 week post-op appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday, where I’ll be putting to him my reasons for thinking the BHR failed. As in EPIC FAILURE.

Anyway, that’s my story. Any news that anyone has about the likelihood of the BHR being recalled would be good to hear. Good luck to anyone else in the same invidious position; you have my sympathy/empathy and support.

Lee