Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Success and Failure with the Zimmer Durom Implant

By Maxwell Schmickman

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 being removed from the American market for a period of time in July, 2008, the Durom Cup Replacement component was reinstated in August, 2008 along with new training programs for physicians doing the implant surgeries. By following the techniques taught to them in an internet-based training program, surgeons can greatly reduce the number of problems patients suffer from loosening of the implants. Unfortunately, only about half of the doctors who were using the Durom Cup previously have elected to take the extra training necessary to use the technology now.

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.

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 is available and being used again in the U.S., but many physicians are still having doubts about the procedure and are choosing other options for their own patients. They still believe that the problem lies within the design of the implant and are hesitant to give it another chance. What patients need to look at is the fact that while there has been a 5.7% failure rate for patients using the Durom Cup implant, there has also been a success rate of almost 94.3%.

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