The Future of the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement Hip Implant

by Maxwell Schmickman

In 2006 a radical new hip replacement device called the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement was approved for use in the United States. This one-piece design was a radical change from the three-part implants that had been used in previous decades. Doctors were impressed by the track record the implants had enjoyed in Europe for three years prior to the device being introduced into American markets. However, the thrill of victory was rapidly overcome by the agony of defeat as hundreds of U.S. patients started suffering pain from loosening implants.

A large number of implant patients started visiting their doctors and complaining of pain and disability in their hips. Of course, hip replacement is a major surgical procedure, and it takes a few months to fully recover, but Durom Cup Replacement patients started having mobility problems and pain after the normal three-month recovery period. Many of these patients have required revision surgeries to repair damage, and doctors believe that as many as 5.7% of all of the patients who received the implant prior to July 2008 will eventually need a revision.

In July, 2008 Zimmer voluntarily pulled their Durom Cup Replacement components from the American market and advised physicians not to use them. By August, however, the devices were back on the market and available to those physicians who completed a new Internet training program to learn the correct technique for implanting them. These new and improved techniques are supposed to cut the failure rate of the implant surgeries dramatically. However, the damage was already done, and many doctors had become skeptical about the Durom Cup Replacement to the point where they refused to take the extra training required for its use.

Patients who have experienced problems with their Zimmer Durom Cup Replacements are filing lawsuits against the company, and even stockholders have filed a class action lawsuit in Indiana stating that Zimmer should have notified shareholders about what was taking place long before they did. By the end of the 3rd quarter of 2008, Zimmer had set aside $47.5 millions to pay claims brought against them in these lawsuits. Although their testing did not find any defects in their product, they do admit that they were negligent in training doctors properly in its use.

Any patient who has unexplained hip pains longer than three months following the surgery, has had a doctor tell them that their Durom Cup Replacement device has loosened, or has been told that they need revision surgery are being urged by product liability lawyers to seek restitution. Under the laws of most states, patients with these problems are entitled to monetary compensation. Anyone who got a Durom Cup implant prior to July, 2008 may want to check with an attorney to see if they are eligible for compensation under these laws.

The Durom Cup Replacement device is once again being used in the U.S., but many physicians are still opting to use something else rather than risk the high rate of failure that has been associated with its use in this country. These doctors still believe that there is something intrinsically wrong with the design and are reluctant to spend the time it would take to be trained in the correct implant procedures. Patients need to look at the facts and decide for themselves if they want to take the risk, even with the improved odds brought about by better training. There is another way to look at the situation, though, and many patients are beginning to see the Durom Cup in a new light. After all, in spite of the 5.7% estimated failure rate for the device, it also has had an American success rate of 94.3%.

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Published by: Maxwell Schmickman on March 28th, 2009 | Filed under Legal



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