Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Transplants

The Future of the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Transplants

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.

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.

Product liability attorneys are encouraging hip replacement patients to file suit if they are still having hip pain more than three months after their surgery, if there has been any loosening in their artificial joint, or if their doctors have recommended revision surgery to correct their problems. Most states have laws on the books that entitle patients to compensation if they have experienced pain, additional medical expense, and loss of wages caused by a defect in the prosthetic device they are using.

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%.

-Maxwell Scmickman