Zimmer NexGen Revision Surgery Patient Files Knee Replacement Claim

Branchport, NYIris was finding it increasingly difficult to get around, so on her doctor’s advice she had a Zimmer NexGen knee replacement last spring. By December she was back in the hospital, this time for revision surgery. “This Zimmer knee made me an invalid,” she says, “and the second surgery didn’t help any. Now I’m scheduled for yet another knee surgery and my attorney is filing my claim against Zimmer.”

After her knee replacement, Iris (not her real name) went through the usual course of therapy and her Zimmer knee surgery seemed to be successful, but it was short-lived. “About two months after my surgery I could barely walk and it felt like something was poking out of my knee, but I couldn’t see anything,” Iris says. “My poor husband had to wait on me hand and foot for about six months. If we went out anywhere, I would sit in the car - it was that bad.”

All this time Iris was back and forth to her doctor and orthopedic surgeon. She lost track of how many x-rays were taken - they thought she had tendonitis at one point and sent her back to therapy, to no avail. “I tried to wear a little battery for a few hours each day, which pumped some medication into my leg but that didn’t help either,” Iris says.

Next up, Iris had a bone scan and a biopsy. Her surgeon thought she had an infection and scheduled a revision surgery. “My surgeon explained before the surgery that he didn’t know if the entire Zimmer replacement had to come out, so I was quite nervous, with good reason. It turned out that I had necrosis of the bone.”

The surgeon removed the infection and most of the Zimmer parts and put in a longer rod. Iris had to stay in the hospital a few more days and then back for another four weeks of therapy. Then the opposite side of her leg began to ache.

“It seemed to be the same kind of pain - from when this necrosis first occurred,” Iris explains. “In March of this year I had an x-ray that showed a hairline fracture. My surgeon said it could have happened from the surgery itself. It was partially healed and I was doing OK, but two months ago my entire knee started to ache. If I sat for any length of time the pain got worse. If I stood on it the pain was so intense I would cry: That is what I am dealing with now.”

Just last week Iris saw another orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion. He looked at the x-rays (she has them all on disc) and he said something was loose in her knee: the rod was not cemented: he told her the surgery “wasn’t done correctly.” Unfortunately, because Iris is in her 60s, she cannot have any more surgery until early next year. Meanwhile, she is gathering all of her medical records for her attorney.

“My lawyer said I will have to wait until they examine the implant after the revision surgery and then it will take about six weeks to get detailed medical records from the hospital, including the serial number and lot number from the Zimmer parts,” says Iris. At this point, her attorney cannot say whether or not Iris has a claim against Zimmer.

While some knee surgeons have called for a Zimmer NexGen recall, the manufacturer has continued to insist that the knee implants are safe. In its defense, Zimmer says on its website that:
“The FDA has never ordered a recall on any of our Zimmer NexGen knee replacement products. We believe these attorneys are causing undue concern about our products in the hope of making money, without regard for the truth, or your well-being. Their presentation is often aggressive and convincing, even citing reports and surgeon experience, but none of it is in a fair, balanced, and truthful manner.”

Attorneys for hip and knee replacement plaintiffs say otherwise.