Woman Suffers the Pinnacle of Pain with DePuy Pinnacle

County Durham, UKThe DePuy Pinnacle has sadly and irrecoverably put a woman from the United Kingdom on a path to pain and frustration from which she cannot seem to escape. Margaret Davie is a retired civil servant who has since founded a support group in her part of the world for Pinnacle patients having suffered in similar fashion.

According to the May 24 issue of the Northern Echo, Davie was fitted with a DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system in April 2008 at the age of 61. However, she would soon begin experiencing the pain and discomfort felt by many Pinnacle patients following implantation of the metal-on-metal prosthetic hip.

DePuy Orthopaedics, according to the Northern Echo, recalled the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System in 2010 amidst concerns for a high failure rate and the potential for the metal-on-metal system to damage bone and tissue through the release of minute particles of metal into surrounding muscle—and even into the bloodstream. The Pinnacle, however, has not been recalled.

In Davie's case, her pain was so severe that she went back to the hospital last July and underwent revision surgery. The Pinnacle hip replacement was consequently swapped out with a ceramic joint, followed by yet another period of healing.

Sadly, in Davie's case, her pain levels failed to improve, and on Easter Monday of this year, the retired civil servant suffered what was described as a catastrophic dislocation. She was rushed to the hospital where her severely dislocated hip was restored to position in yet a third surgery. Davie must now wear a brace and use padding to hold her hip in place.

"I am really, really worried it will happen again, said the mother of one in comments published in the Northern Echo. "The pain was indescribable," she said of the dislocation. "I was standing on one leg, unable to move."

Davie is reported to have filed a lawsuit against DePuy over her failed DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement. As for plaintiffs in the US, an order to consolidate a growing number of DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits was issued on May 23.

It is reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received no fewer than 548 adverse reaction reports related to the DePuy Pinnacle in 2010. DePuy has yet to issue a formal recall of the metal-on-metal hip replacement system. Davie told the newspaper her life has been ruined as the result of her experience.