Personal Injury Law

Hip replacement products recalled

The USA Today recently revealed a hip replacement product recall that may affect many consumers. Johnson & Johnson?s artificial joint business issued a product recall of two hip replacement products only two days after a government warning was issued. The government warned that Johnson & Johnson has been illegally marketing two other products. This is the 11th Johnson & Johnson product recall since September.

The product recall is being issued because data that is about to be released showed higher-than-expected rates of patients needing a second hip replacement procedure. This is a big issue because hip replacement is a major surgical procedure where the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant. Recovery generally takes two to four weeks to walk with a cane and four to six weeks to walk unassisted. Here, with these artificial hip replacements, one in eight patients will need a revision surgery within five years. That is required when an artificial joint does not fit perfectly, causing pain and difficulty walking. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told the manufacturing company to stop selling its hip system for two unapproved uses. It also ordered the company to provide information needed to review another product the agency said that the company has been selling even though it was never approved.

Johnson & Johnson earlier issued a product recall of millions of Acuvue TruEye contact lenses sold in Asia and Europe because some users complained of stinging or pain when they inserted the lenses. Johnson & Johnson remains under scrutiny by the FDA, Congress, and federal prosecutors over eight previous U.S. recalls of nonprescription medicines since last September, including millions of bottles of Tylenol, pain relievers, and cold medicines for children and adults.

To read more about the hip replacement product recall, visit USAToday.com.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on September 27, 2010 (boomark / email).