New York Times Article on the Zimmer Cup Hip Implant Issues
The Evidence Gap - A Call for a Warning System on Artificial Joints
The New York Times came out with an informative article on the Zimmer Durom hip implant and the issues that Dr. Dorr was seeing with his patients.
While Dr. Dorr was attending a meeting:
“I saw one of Zimmer’s engineers at a meeting, and I told her that you should pull this cup because you are crippling patients,” Dr. Dorr said.
It wasn't long after that or so that Zimmer Holdings suspended the sales of Zimmer Cup Hip Implants in the US. Zimmer cited that they needed to train the surgeons on the best way to implement the hip implant. While they didn't come right out and say that the doctors involved were doing the implants wrong, they did insinuate that the doctors needed more or better training and that was the reason they stopped sales of the units.
New York Times Article on the Zimmer Implant
Complaints Undermine Hip Device
This was taken from the above New York Times article:
"Zimmer said its investigation had determined that the product was not defective. But it stated that even some experienced surgeons had found it difficult to implant. The company said it expected to resume sales once specialized training for doctors had begun."
This further strengthens that Zimmer is putting the blame on the doctor's that implemented the hip implant. While the details surrounding this are still developing, there is some talk of the way the devices made for the US market are different from the European market - where very little problems have arisen.
So what is the big difference?
Zimmer Holdings
Here is a memo sent from Dr. Dorr to the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons that deals with what he feels is the cause for the hip implant failures:
MEMO
DATE: 4/22/08
TO: American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons
FROM: Larry Dorr, M.D.
RE: This NOTICE is to inform you that we have had ten revisions in 165 hips and have four more that need to be revised using the Durom cup (Zimmer, Inc).
This failure rate has occurred within the first two years. In the first year the x-rays looked perfect. We have revised four that did not have any radiolucent lines or migration (and John Moreland revised one). These early cups fooled us, but the symptoms were so classic for a loose implant that we operated the patients. When we hit on the edge of the cup it would just pop free. As time goes by the cups begin developing radiolucent lines. We now have one cup at two years that has actually migrated a short distance. It has tilted into varus. We do not believe the fixation surface is good on these cups. Also there is a circular cutting surface on the periphery of the cup that we believe prevents the cup from fully seating. We stopped using the cup after the first revisions.
We have notified Zimmer. The FDA has been notified and we will notify them of our continued revisions. The company does not believe it should pull the cup from the market so I am notifying all of my colleagues of our failure rate with this cup. I went through a similar scenario with the Sulzer cup failures where I was the only one experiencing revisions at the beginning and basically it was assumed that it was our technique. I can assure you that this goes beyond technique. I learned my lesson in not informing everyone about this magnitude of failures with the Sulzer cup problem, so it is my obligation to do so with this cup.
So what does this all mean?
In a nutshell, Zimmer has put on the market a device that according to the medical field, in particular Dr. Dorr that has serious issues, and a higher than normal failure rate for a hip implant.
So what do you do if you have received a Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant? Or if someone you know and care about has?
The first thing to do would be to consult your legal advisor in order to ensure your best interests are at stake. It would be wise to choose someone who has the ability to defend your case and has a track record of success in this field.
To simplify the process, use the "contact us" form by Clicking Here!
This is just a preliminary step and is a good way to get your inital questions answered, you are in no way obligated at this point.
Good luck in getting your hip implant issues resolved and hopefully any pain you are experiencing resolved quickly!
www.ZimmerDuromRecallCenter.com - admin
p.s. Please feel free to post any follow up comments below!
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