Zimmer Biomet Defective Durom Cup Hip Implant
Zimmer Biomet is an orthopedic and medical device company who made the defective Durom Cup hip implant from 2006-2008. It was implanted in approximately 12,000 patients in the United States during that time. The Zimmer hip implant or Durom Cup had many moving metal-on-metal parts. The grinding of these metal parts can release shards of toxic metals into the patient and cause a multitude of issues such as inflammation, infection, and decay of bone and tissue. Many defective Durom Cups have required additional surgeries to remove and replace the implant.
Another Zimmer Biomet defective device, the M2a Magnum hip implant is also causing serious injuries from its defective design. Like many other recalled hip implants and medical devices, the metal-on-metal design has shown to be defective, causing metal toxicity and premature failure of its components.
Problems with the Biomet M2a Magnum Hip Implant
The Durom Cup and Biomet M2a Magnum hip implants have been alleged to cause many problems for thousands of patients. Cases have been and currently are being litigated and filed across the country. The problem with these recalled and defective hip implants is the metal-on-metal design. The products tend to release excessive metal from the grinding of their parts as the components move. Levels of cobalt and other metals are being released into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream. This can result in tissue death, bone loss, swelling and pain. It also may lead to revision surgeries being necessitated to remove and correct the damage from the defective hip implant.
Dangers of Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants
Hip replacement systems typically are designed to be manufactured with either ceramic or metal components. Complete metal on metal hip replacement systems were marketed to younger or more athletic consumers with the intent of providing a broader range of motion and more flexibility than the traditional ceramic designs. For several years, metal-on-metal hip replacements became extremely popular in patients under the age of 50 with over half of surgeries being performed with metal on metal.
Concerns with the design of such a system quickly arose as reports of the metal-on-metal design failing at a higher than normal rate and much sooner than the expected life expectancy began to roll in. One of the concerns from attorneys and consumer advocates initially is the Food and Drug Administrations 501(K) clearance process for medical devices. It allows for companies who manufacture hip implants or other products to enter the market with little to no human trials and testing if there are substantially similar products already on the market. Unfortunately, as injured patients have found out, the Durom Cup and M2a Magnum hip implants are failing them and causing more problems than they had before.
Defective Hip Implant Lawsuit
Thousands of hip implant patients are have had to undergo corrective surgeries and live with severe pain and discomfort from these defective metal-on-metal hip implants. If you received a Zimmer hip implant or Zimmer Hip Revision surgery and are now suffering from one or more of the symptoms, call the drug attorneys at the Willis Law Firm for a private and free consultation. The defective medical device lawyers will quickly determine whether you have a potential claim on behalf of your injuries at no cost to you. Contact us today.