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Georgia: FDA Recalls DePuy Hip Implants

After receiving complaints about the product, orthopedic manufacturer DePuy has issued a recall of its ASR hip implants. This hip system has a shockingly high rate of failure, and many of the victims of these failures have had to undergo a second, painful surgery to remove and replace the defective hip.

Due to a fairly high percentage (12-13%) of five year revision or secondary hip surgeries DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. reported based on this year's data from the National Joint Registry (NJR) of England and Wales, the manufacturer announced this week it is voluntarily pulling the ASR? XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR? Hip Resurfacing System from the marketplace. DePuy has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies globally of the voluntary recall.

The ASR device is part of a class of large diameter, monoblock hip resurfacing and replacement devices preferred by surgeons for young patients who may benefit from the stability of the device, thus limiting the chance of repeated dislocation. The DePuy ASR? Hip Resurfacing System was introduced in 2003 and is only approved for use outside the U.S. The ASR? XL Acetabular System was first launched in 2004 and has been available worldwide.

The risk for revision was highest with women utilizing ASR head sizes below 50 mm in diameter.

As the numbers suggest, most ASR hip replacement surgeries are successful. However, Depuy is strongly suggesting patients utilizing an ASR device immediately see their implant surgeons for a full evaluation of performance.

Full post as published by A Georgia Lawyer on August 31, 2010 (boomark / email).