Tags
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, DePuy, Food & Drug Administration, Hip Replacement, Orthopedic surgery, Rush University Medical Center, surgery, UNited States
‘Metal on metal’ hip implants leave some recipients in pain, at risk
By Anita Creamer; The Sacramento Bee – click here
Noreen Rademacher takes 12-year-old Sassy for a walk in Carmichael, Calif. Rademacher had both hips replaced in the late 1990s and is going strong. Now 85, she goes to exercise class three times a week, walks her dog a mile a day and enjoys bird-watching.
By his early 60s, Michael Stieler had worn out the cartilage in his right hip with a lifetime of running, hang gliding and carpentry work. Surgery to replace the hip in 2007 provided enormous relief for the Sonora, Calif., man – for a year.
“And then all heck broke loose,” said Stieler, now 68. “It hurt. I couldn’t even walk on it.”
He and his wife, Darlene, weren’t surprised when a notice arrived last September from the company that manufactured his artificial hip, DePuy Orthopaedics: His all-metal hip was being voluntarily recalled because of its early failure rates as well as its potential for shedding high levels of cobalt and chromium into the bloodstream.
Now the Food and Drug Administration has ordered all 21 companies that produce so-called “metal on metal” hips to monitor recipients, assessing how they react to the implant. And thousands of artificial hip recipients are wondering if they’re at risk from their new hips.
“The crux is, we’ve seen some of these implants fail very early and exhibit metal ion release,” said Dr. Thomas Blumenfeld, an orthopedic surgeon at Sutter Orthopaedic Institute in Sacramento, Calif. “But the vast majority of implants will do well.”
Hip replacement surgery, first performed in the 1960s, has revolutionized old age – and now middle age – for millions of Americans who otherwise would be crippled with arthritis and broken hips. More than 250,000 hip replacements are performed in this country annually, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
As many as 30 percent of them involve metal on metal bearing surfaces, in which both the ball and socket lining are made of a cobalt chromium alloy. (A variety of other materials, such as ceramics and plastics, can be used in the construction of the hips’ bearing surfaces, where the ball of the femur rubs against the socket.)
With metal on metal bearings, the ordinary wear and tear of movement can cause microscopic amounts of the alloy to enter the bloodstream, and tiny particles of metallic debris can damage the tissue surrounding the hip, making the implant loosen and become painful.
The new FDA action results from consumer complaints that the metal bearings, which should last up to 15 years, are at particular risk of early failure – and worse, from concerns that long-term exposure to the devices’ toxic metals can lead to renal problems and cancer.
“The issues around this are fairly complex,” said AAOS spokesman Dr. Joshua Jacobs, orthopedic surgery department chairman at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.
“The symptom that patients become aware of is pain. They should not ignore hip pain. It could be caused by bursitis or referred pain from the spine. Or it could be an adverse local tissue response.”
And when metals leach into the tissues, the resulting bone loss and tissue damage can make revision surgery a rougher proposition.
Like many artificial hip recipients, Carmichael, Calif., resident Noreen Rademacher doesn’t have any idea what her hips – both replaced in the late 1990s – are made of, or who manufactured them. It’s likely she doesn’t really need to, because she has had no pain.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” said Rademacher, an energetic 85-year-old widow and retired kindergarten teacher who regularly attends exercise classes at Mission Oaks Community Center.
“I know that hip replacements don’t last forever, but I’m hoping I don’t have to go through surgery again.”
Medical experts and FDA officials say that in the absence of complications, most hip implant patients – including people who have received metal on metal devices – should not be concerned about their artificial hips.
The FDA review of the metal on metal hips will include assessment of how the devices are performing as well as recipients’ blood tests and imaging.
“The paradigm for joint replacement has been, come back if you’re in pain,” said Blumenfeld. “But this is a man-made device going into the human body. It has to be followed.”
Related articles
- Crucial Documents Could Determine DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuit Results (earlsview.com)
- Techniques In Implementing A Hip Replacement Operation (earlsview.com)
Pingback: Bruce Greenfield may be the last New Zealander implanted with a faulty hip joint « Earl's View
Pingback: Options for Hip Replacements – different materials « Earl's View
Pingback: Laredo, Texas area teacher/counselor files suit after DePuy hip implant fails « Earl's View
Pingback: Sadwin Raises More Questions – Will They Ever Be Answered? « Earl's View
Pingback: What’s Hip in Orthopedic Implant Design « Earl's View
Pingback: Madison-Based Firm Files 80 Lawsuits « Earl's View
Pingback: Artificial hip is creating cobalt toxicity ASK DR. H Mitchell Hecht « Earl's View
Pingback: Guess it makes sense that DePuy is now Pushing a Hip Revision System!!! « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal-on-Metal Implants Experience (More) Backlash « Earl's View
Pingback: South Wales (UK) Patients Seek Legal Advice After Early Hip Replacement Failure « Earl's View
Pingback: Johnson & Johnson Sued for Prosthetic Hip Implant Defects « Earl's View
Pingback: Lawsuits Filed Against Recalled DePuy ASR Hip Implant « Earl's View
Pingback: Kohl: FDA’s Post-Market Review of Hip Implants Welcome, But More Scrutiny Needed « Earl's View
Pingback: Can J&J Really Change – or is There An Endemic Rot in a Company Which Has Got too Large to Manage? « Earl's View
Pingback: Australia – Hip surgery ruins lives « Earl's View
Pingback: Veterans are Put through Another War – Hip Recall « Earl's View
Pingback: Barry Meier – Study of Medical Device Rules Is Attacked, Unseen « Earl's View
Pingback: Sadwin Doesn’t buy the BHR Story … « Earl's View
Pingback: Cobalt Toxicity from Hip Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: Cobalt Toxicity – Not to be Dismissed « Earl's View
Pingback: Legal Firm Says Metal on Metal Implants not Thoroughly Tested « Earl's View
Pingback: Aussie Hip News – Elderly Patients Hips Turn Toxic « Earl's View
Pingback: Patients reveal agony of toxic hip implants – Four Corners News « Earl's View
Pingback: Will the Wright Profemur® Hip Replacement be Recalled? « Earl's View
Pingback: Innovative Metal-on-Metal Hips a Trap « Earl's View
Pingback: Cobalt Ions Lead to Inflamation Response in Kidney, Gut and Lung Cells « Earl's View
Pingback: All Metal Implants Corrode and Release Metal Ions « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal release in hip replacements is down to chemistry – it must happen « Earl's View
Pingback: Effect of Heat Treatment on Cobalt Chrome « Earl's View
Pingback: Low Spin – Wright Medical – FAQ on Metal-on-Metal Hips « Earl's View
Pingback: Smith & Nephew Metal-on-Metal Marketing SPIN « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal Ion Hypersensitivity in Metal-on-Metal Hips « Earl's View
Pingback: DNA Damage from Chromium from Orthopaedic Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: Alternative Bearing Surfaces For Hip Replacement Components « Earl's View
Pingback: Safety Studies for Metal-on-Metal Hip « Earl's View
Pingback: Release of Cobalt and Chromium Ions Into the Serum « Earl's View
Pingback: Cobalt and Chromium Toxicity – MoM Hip Replacements « Earl's View
Pingback: Pseudotumors in MoM Hip Replacements « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal Debris Poisoning in MoM Hip Replacements « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Debate « Earl's View
Pingback: Perspectives on Modern Orthopaedics « Earl's View
Pingback: Q&A on MoM Hip Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: FDA Takes Action on MoM Hip Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: Hip Manufacturers Required by FDA to do Safety Studies « Earl's View
Pingback: Pain, Disability Plague Many « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: Cobalt Poisoning – Listen to the Toxicology Expert on Video « Earl's View
Pingback: What You Should Know About Metallosis « Earl's View
Pingback: Corin Cormet FDA Approval – At Least the FDA Panel included Metal Ion Serum Levels « Earl's View
Pingback: Unpublished report from FDA Database Downplaying Cobalt Chrome Metal Ion Danger « Earl's View
Pingback: Hip Implant Removal – Total Hip Revision « Earl's View
Pingback: Challenges associated with using bovine serum in wear testing orthopaedic biopolymers « Earl's View
I genuinely wanna get on a food plan, I think this great site will aid me ascertain the right medical preparations and information, bookmarked.
Pingback: MUSC Reconstruction Experts Address Metal-on-Metal Joint Replacement Device Controversy « Earl's View
Pingback: New Chromium and Cobalt Test to Assist the Medical Community « Earl's View
Pingback: 7 Critical Orthopedic and Spine Device Industry Trends « Earl's View
Pingback: The Holy Grail of Orthopaedics – Can We Achieve the Revision-Free Implant? « Earl's View
Pingback: Hip Replacement A- Z – All you Need to Know « Earl's View
Pingback: Metal on Metal Hips – Extracts from Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry – Annual Report 2010 « Earl's View
Pingback: Hips and Hip Replacements: What you need to know « Earl's View
Pingback: Hip replacement and hip revision « Earl's View
Pingback: Bio-Engineering – Need a new hip? Someday you may grow your own… « Earl's View
Pingback: Derek McMinn addresses Metal on Metal Hip Implants « Earl's View
Pingback: Complaints Surge About Crumbling Artificial Hips « Earl's View
Pingback: Determining Material Characteristics of Hip Implants: 3-D Microscopy Is the Answer « Earl's View
Pingback: Barry Meier – New York Times – Remedy Is Elusive as Metallic Hips Fail at a Fast Rate « Earl's View
Pingback: BE SURE PEOPLE DEMAND ASPIRATION IF THEY HAVE A METAL HIP! « Earl's View