South Carolinians who have received a DePuy Acetabular Cup System (ASR) hip replacement could require a replacement for their hip replacement at a higher rate than other types of implants. South Carolina defective products lawyers read information claiming the ASR can fail as soon as one year after initial replacement surgery. Failure can cause excruciating hip pain and may require additional surgery to replace the failed implant.
DePuy’s ASR hip replacement has been recalled due to a growing number of patients with this particular replacement experiencing hip failures and other complications, allegedly stemming from the defective design of the implant. It has been suggested by orthopedic experts that because of the implant’s design it has an extremely low probability of proper placement, making the failure rate for the ASR much higher than other types of hip replacements.
Also, because the ASR is a metal-on-metal hip implant there is the possibility of metal particles shedding into the body over time as the replacement wears down. This wear and tear could damage tissue and bone around the replacement causing a loosening of the hip. A recent study in the United Kingdom found that 3.4% of the 660 patients studied suffered from adverse reactions from metal debris shed from the ASR.
The manufacturer of the DePuy ASR announced that it would be phased out before 2011, but that does not mean those who have received an ASR replacement are safe from complications resulting from defective products. It is also possible to show that prior to this phase out DePuy was aware of the risks and problems that could be encountered by the ASR hip replacement device. Initially DePuy Orthopedics indicated they would stop selling the ASP implant because of slow sales. However, a letter sent to doctors in March 2010 warned of potential problems of the implant and that data indicated a higher-than-expected failure. This letter suggests that design defects were known to DePuy and that their “slow sales” pitch about the product’s phase out may have been an effort to proect the company’s image.
