Posts Tagged ‘ DePuy Hip Recall ’

Did your DePuy Hip Surgeon Receive Compensation from DePuy?

December 7th, 2010. By AbiK

I came across an interesting article yesterday over at Connecticut Health I-Team (C-HIT), a non-profit publication focusing on health and safety issues. The article was about the DePuy ASR Hip replacement, and the hip recall—and sure, there’s been an onslaught of news about DePuy, but this article was one of the few I’ve seen that actually published the list of surgeons who’ve received compensation from DePuy Orthopaedics. The list includes around 200 surgeons nationwide who received a total of over $80.8 million.

To be fair, the list is available over at the DePuy company website—but you have to work for it a bit. It’s not only down at the bottom navigation on the homepage in grey mice type (translation: not exactly the mose legible), but it’s also arranged as an alphabetical click-through by the doctor’s last name. I didn’t see an actual downloadable file of the complete list—and that’s where C-HIT comes in—they did that legwork.

Now, I’m not saying that any of those surgeons necessarily chose to use the DePuy ASR Hip in patients when perhaps a better hip implant would’ve been a more prudent choice. What I am saying though is that the practice of pharmaceutical companies compensating doctors—for consulting, speaking gigs or whatever—does begin to put into question just how independently or free-from-influence a doctor can truly be when making decisions regarding patient care—when he’s been compensated by the very companies that provide the menu of treatment options available to him, and therefore, his patients?

So, for those of you who are curious, this is the list that was published by C-HIT, by state. Click to read on… Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: DePuy ASR Hip, DePuy Hip Recall, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement, DePuy Surgeon
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 10 Comments »

DePuy Hip Replacement Signs of Trouble

November 12th, 2010. By AbiK

One of the most interesting things I’ve come across while reading some DePuy ASR Hip Replacement recall message boards is that many hip replacement patients don’t seem to even know what hip implant they received. The upshot of that is that, at the least, they have no clue what’s been put inside their bodies, and at the worst, if there is a problem with the implanted medical device, they may not know it—or news of such must rely on a string of communications from manufacturer to health provider to patient—and that’s if you’re lucky.

So news of the DePuy hip implant recall may—or may not—have reached those who actually have received the ASR hip replacement—and that’s not an ideal situation for such a serious recall.

The DePuy hip replacement recall was for about 93,000 units of the DePuy ASR Hip (manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics). While some online reports were suggesting that upwards of 80,000 DePuy ASR Hip patients may ultimately need hip replacement revision surgery, studies have been done that suggest the rate of hip revision surgery is more in the range of 12-13%—meaning that one in twelve to thirteen DePuy Hip patients may well need hip revision surgery within five years of having their initial DePuy hip replacement surgery.

So if you’re one of those patients—one of the 12-13%–how would you know it?

From actual reader comments, it sounds like one of the main symptoms is the inability to squat—at least not to the full range that you should be able to post-surgery and post-therapy. There have also been first-hand reports of things like still using crutches for much longer than the usual timeframe anticipated post-hip replacement surgery. But the main signs to look for—those that appear to be consistent among patients with a defective DePuy ASR hip implant are these:

• Pain—or continued pain—in the hip, leg, lower back or groin area, after the appropriate healing time has passes
• The feeling that something is “loose” in your hip
• A “clicking” sound in the hip area
• The feeling that the hip is slightly dislocated or not fully connected while in motion, particularly when standing up or lowering oneself, or during general leg/hip movements
• The inability to fully move within the normal range of one’s physical activity

Given that DePuy lawsuits have been filed, and that seeking legal help may be the only way for someone who’s received a defective DePuy hip replacement to ensure that they get any damages that may be awarded to them, if you’ve had hip replacement surgery and are experiencing any of the above symptoms and they don’t appear to be going away, you should first contact your doctor and/or surgeon to find out the manufacturer and make of the hip implant you received. If it was indeed the DePuy ASR hip, you should most likely speak with an attorney who specializes in DePuy hip lawsuits.

Tags: DePuy ASR Hip, DePuy Hip Recall, DePuy Hip Replacement, DePuy Lawsuit, DePuy Orthopaedics, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement
Posted in DePuy ASR Hip Recall, Emerging Issues | 30 Comments »