Stryker Rejuvenate Has a Few Screws Loose

November 17, 2013, 10:30AM. By Jane Mundy

Charleston, SCSince undergoing a Stryker Rejuvenate hip implant, Marcellos, age 35, has been walking with a cane. But wait, it gets worse: because he is on Medicaid, he was told he cannot have hip revision surgery for at least 10 years.

“After Stryker hip surgery, my right leg was considerably longer than the other and I could barely get out of bed in the morning - I was in that much pain,” says Marcellos. “I complained to my orthopedic surgeon but he said I just had to wear an insert in my left shoe to compensate. He never told me how long I would have to do this for and he never told me how long I would be walking with a cane. I’m guessing the answer is until I have revision surgery and get this faulty hip removed.”

A few years ago, Marcellos started to get pain in his knee and hip. His doctor couldn’t find anything wrong so he was eventually referred to an orthopedic surgeon who told Marcellos that the bones in his hip were deteriorating and the only thing to help would be a hip replacement. Marcellos’ surgeon couldn’t explain why this was happening. He asked Marcellos if he was a heavy drinker and if he started drinking at a young age.

“I did start drinking when I was a teenager but I am not an alcoholic,” says Marcellos. “I mainly drink protein shakes! I was never in a car wreck - I never had an injury. The surgeon explained that the blood isn’t reaching my bone in my right hip area so I would risk dead bone disease if I didn’t get a hip replacement.”

Marcellos had a Stryker hip replacement last year and since that time he has seen two other doctors, hoping to get revision surgery. With the help of his wife (she is a paralegal), Marcellos obtained his medical records and operative reports. From the report, he found out that the surgeon had to do a lot of procedures other than the typical replacement. But Marcellos doesn’t know if he should be filing a hip replacement lawsuit or a medial malpractice suit.

“The surgeon had a hard time fitting the Stryker device and that is why I believe this replacement hip has to be replaced - I need revision surgery,” Marcellos explains. “My physical therapists told me that some people are up and walking just one or two days after surgery - right back to their usual routine. But here I am a year later still walking with a cane and I am only 35 years old. My hip pops and it is extremely painful in my groin area; this can’t be right.

Marcellos doesn’t have health insurance to cover a revision surgery: his surgeon said that Medicaid won’t cover it. He was also told that, due to his age, the Stryker hip should last at least another 10-15 years. “I told him that there’s a screw or two loose and something is very wrong,” Marcellos says. “The pain radiates from the area where the screw is embedded in my pelvis. I get a sharp pain in my joints and it is very sore over the tissue covering the incision.

“My doctor gave me a steroid shot and he said there is inflammation in that area. He also said that if push comes to shove I will have to get steroid shots in my hip every six months until I get this Stryker hip taken out of me. So I can’t figure out if the surgeon is on my side or Stryker’s side.

“I feel like a guinea pig. If I was able to go to another city and see another surgeon, I guarantee they would say this hip is defective. It is beyond frustrating. I would love to get therapy or yoga to help me, but at the same time I am sick and tired with people telling me to exercise; how can that help with these screws in my hip - no matter how strong I could get, no amount of therapy or exercise is going to help when you have a defective device. And I can’t take a pain pill for this. It’s not like I am dealing with a break or fracture. I wish I never went along with this surgery.

“I would love to find an attorney who can help me get a referral to another surgeon as well as filing a claim against Stryker.”