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The Future of the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement Hip Implant

Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | Medical Malpractice | admin

The Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement component was used in over 12,000 hip replacement surgeries in the United States from its approval in 2006 through July, 2008. These devices are made of only one piece of material, and their design differs radically from the 3-part implants which were their predecessors. During the period of time from 2003 to 2006, hundreds of implant surgeries were successfully performed in Europe, and American physicians were impressed. Unfortunately, as many American patients started having problems with their implants, doctors lost their faith in them.

Patients started complaining of pain in their hips. Although there is some pain to be expected for the first few months after hip replacement surgery, Durom Cup recipients were starting to complain of problems well after the three-month recovery period. Doctors are now convinced that revision surgery will be needed in almost 5.7% of the patients who received the transplants prior to July, 2008.

After studying the problems from January through July, 2008, Zimmer finally pulled the Durom Cup Replacement device from American markets. After devising a new Internet training program for surgeons, the cup was reintroduced in August, 2008. Only doctors who complete the online training are now able to do the implant surgeries, because the extra training was designed to drastically cut down on the number of revisions that will need to be done. About half of all doctors have refused so far to take the training. They no longer have enough faith in the Zimmer product to go to any extra work in order to use it.

A lot of the unhappy patients who have experienced pain and suffering due to the loosening of their Durom Cup Replacements have filed lawsuits against the company. In addition, a group of stockholders in Indiana filed a class action suit stating that the company was negligent in informing investors about the problems in a timely manner. Even though the company did a lot of testing on the product and found no defects, they announced that they had set aside $47.5 million to pay these claims. They do admit that they were at fault for not offering adequate training to physicians who were using their product.

Patients who are experiencing unexplained hip pain more than three months after having hip replacement surgery, have loosening and slippage in their artificial hip implant, or require hip replacement revision surgery are being encouraged by product liability attorneys to file suit against the company. Per the laws in most states, patients are entitled to compensation for their pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages due to defects in the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacements they received prior to July, 2008.

Zimmer holdings has released a recall of their Zimmer Durom cup hip implant.  There are Zimmer hip lawsuits pending in multiple states across the US.  If you or a loved on has been subject to a Zimmer Durom implant, then you may want to contact a Zimmer Hip Lawyer to see if you have a case.

Since it was reintroduced to the American market in August, 2008, the Durom Cup Replacement device is again being used by about half of the physicians who used to perform the implants. While it is much too soon to know the success rate of these surgeries, the doctors who have performed them are confident that the new training they received will make a big difference. Other doctors are still skeptical and reluctant to take the risk of trying to use the cups again. If you are a candidate for hip replacement surgery, you’ll need to read the information that’s available and make your own decisions. Keep in mind, though, that even with a 5.7% failure rate, Durom Cup surgeries were still successful 94.3% of the time.

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The Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant: Success and Failure

Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | Medical Malpractice | admin

In 2006 Zimmer Holdings, the world’s largest manufacturer of orthopedic devices, introduced the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant in the United States. Since that time, thousands of implants have been surgically inserted into American patients. The device had been used successfully in Europe since 2003 before being tried in the U.S. Unfortunately, its road to success has been far bumpier in the U.S. than it has been in Europe, and U.S. sales have been put on hold.

Physicians who performed the unsuccessful surgeries claim that the Zimmer Cup is a defective piece of equipment. Zimmer counters with the fact that it has been so successful in Europe and contends that the surgeons must be at fault. They do agree, however, that surgeons have not had access to adequate training in the correct procedures to use when performing the implant and that this lack of training has been instrumental in the failure of the replacement surgeries. With this fact in mind, Zimmer voluntarily suspended U.S. implant sales until a method of training surgeons is in place. Sadly, some surgeons are still blaming the device itself and are unwilling to perform more implant surgeries no matter what kind of training they are offered.

Zimmer holdings has released a recall of their Zimmer Durom cup hip implant.  There are Zimmer hip lawsuits pending in multiple states across the US.  If you or a loved on has been subject to a Zimmer Durom implant, then you may want to contact a Zimmer Hip Lawyer to see if you have a case.

Under the laws of most states, patients who suffer from the effects of defective orthopedic devices are entitled to compensation if the device doesn’t perform as expected. These laws state that patients can be compensated for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages if it is the device that is at fault. So, the battle goes on with Zimmer claiming there is nothing wrong with the design of the Durom Cup and with physicians blaming the device for the failed surgeries.

Hip replacement surgeries aren’t a new idea. In fact, as early as 1891 there is written reference to attempts to replace the femoral head using ivory devices. It wasn’t until 1960, however, that the Burmese surgeon, Dr. San Baw, started replacing broken hip bones with ivory. Within the next 20 years Dr. Baw claimed a success rate of 88% on the more than 300 replacement surgeries that he performed.

Modern hip replacement devices owe their origin to John Charnley who pioneered a 3-part artificial hip joint. Developed in the 1970s, this device or an adaptation of it was used all over the world for over 20 years. Then, in 2003, Zimmer introduced the Durom Cup which was touted as the best hip replacement device ever created during its initial try-outs in Europe.

There has been a vast improvement in both hip replacement devices and the surgical methods used to implant them in the years since the first procedures were performed, but the operation still has its problems. The most common problem patients with a Zimmer Durom Cup implant have is in the implant slipping. This occurs due to the fact that the implant is built smaller than the patient’s original bones, and if it isn’t inserted correctly, it can move around. In addition, the implant can sometimes loosen and infections can occur. In spite of the risks involved with this surgery, physicians still prefer that the patients who have serious problems with their hip joints undergo the procedure.

Zimmer can only hope to win the lawsuits that have been filed against it and be able to market their Durom Cup more successfully in the U.S. in the future. They still believe that their device can make a positive difference in the lives of many people if used correctly.

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