Articles Posted in DePuy Hip

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In the past couple months, many people have heard about stem cell treatments being used to try to avoid major joint surgery. Much of these news came from the baseball world, where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (LAA) allowed doctors to perform a stem cell treatment instead of “Tommy John” surgery on two pitchers.

untitled-1238929-mIn the case of these baseball players, Tommy John surgery (named after the first pitcher to get the procedure, more formally known as an ulna collateral ligament or UCL procedure) can save a career, but it takes over a year for the pitcher to return to the game in most cases. The new procedure uses stem cells from bone marrow (not embryonic stem cells), and they may be able to regrow the damaged tissue instead of needing a replacement.  Unfortunately, for one of the two pitchers, it did not work, so they had to do the Tommy John procedure after all. Continue reading

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A man’s $8 million damage award for a defective hip has survived an appeal before the 4th District Court of Appeal. The trial was the first of thousands of product liability claims filed over the ASR hip device. surgery

Plaintiff alleged that the device failed just 5 years after the surgery, despite promises that it was supposed to last most if not all the rest of his lifetime.

The case was Kransky v. DePuy, and expert witnesses, including a biomedical engineer, testified in the case that internal data from the company showed these hips started to deform and change shape in just one year’s worth of walking in the human body. This high rate of deformity was known to those in the company, who ignored this reported “red flag.”  Continue reading

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There are a variety of ways a total hip replacement surgery can be performed these days. While every procedure ultimately involves making an incision and removing the patient’s deteriorating hip and replacing it with an artificial device, some doctors will make an anterior incision, some will cut along the side, some will cut through the muscle, while others will move the muscle.  There is now a special table that doctors can use to give them better access to the site of procedure, and in some cases, doctors will use computers to make the map the site and even robots to perform the actual surgery.

ward1While the proponents of every one of these techniques obviously claims that their procedure is the best, a recent report outlined in News Medical looks at the results following various techniques to see which one actually has better results in the various cases. Continue reading

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There have been a lot of advances in the total hip replacement surgery process over the past decade.  Much of that has focused on the development of new artificial hip joints as well as computer aided methods of performing the operation.  There have also been improvements in the cutting guides surgeons use to know where to make the cuts and align the device.

untitled-1019029-mA cutting guide is similar to a carpenter’s jig and allows the surgeon to make as precise as possible cut in the patients existing joint and bone to allow for a proper tight fit for the new artificial joint.  The better the new joint matches up, the less of a chance there will be any complications later on. Continue reading

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According to a recent news feature from NFL.com, legendary coach and sports analyst John Madden is recovering from a total hip replacement operation.

Following his long coaching career that earned him induction into the NFL Hall of Fame, Madden spent many years in the broadcast booth.  One of his more famous traditions was covering the Thanksgiving Day game each year, and that was where he introduced most fans to the “turducken” meal.

or-room-lights-33324-mMadden had retired from broadcasting in 2008 due to serious health conditions he was experiencing at the time. The following year, he had a major heart surgery.  Despite his retirement, the coach takes part in a major charity event each year, along with Steve Mariucci.  He could not attend this year due to the fact that he was recovering from the total hip replacement surgery.  At the event this year, Mariucci reported that his friend was doing fine and was well on the road to recovery. Continue reading

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There has recently been a lot of attention in the media paid to the growing problem with opioid addiction in the nation.  We have seen thousands of deaths from accidental overdoses of narcotic painkillers, and the problem is only getting worse, with patients getting access to more and more powerful drugs.

perscription-drugs-2-1160103-m-300x225Recently, it has been reported that singer Prince died as result of an accidental overdose of Fentanyl.   Fentanyl is one of the most powerful opioid painkillers on the market and is typically used for patients with advanced stage cancer and things like bone pain.  This particular narcotic is far more potent and dangerous than heroin. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from Fox News, doctors are now able to perform a total hip replacement procedure as an outpatient surgery where the patient gets to leave the hospital on the same day.  The article follows the journey of a male patient who elected to undergo a this outpatient total hip replacement.

hip implantThis patient found his hip was getting worse as the years went by and he could no longer walk without being in extreme pain, tie his shoes, or do many other things he normally did before his hip had deteriorated.  People at work also asked why he was limping so much, and that is when he decided to undergo the operation.  Continue reading

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In a recent news feature from Tech Times, a study was discussed which suggests that patients with mental health issues tend to have more complications following total hip replacement surgery than those who do not suffer from mental illness. This study also suggests that doctors who are going to perform total hip replacement surgery on patients with mental disabilities should discuss these potential complications with the patients, and if appropriate and necessary, the patient’s family prior to preforming the operation.sad

While this may be surprising, researchers have known for a long time that mental health patients who undergo spinal surgery and heart surgery, as well as general surgery, tend to suffer more complications that patients without any mental illness.  Researchers have also found a high coloration between post-operative complications and certain mental health conditions such as depression.  Continue reading

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When we think of hip replacement surgery we are typically think of senior citizens.  For the most part, that is who is getting hip replacement surgery.  However, as discussed in a recent article from Fox News, younger are people are getting a total hip replacement much more often than they have been in the past.

surgeon-2-179919-mOne patient interviewed as part of this article was man in his 40s who had been experienced tremendous pain in his hip. He had always lived what we would consider an active lifestyle and would run and engage in sporting activities on a regular basis.  When he went to his doctor to see what was wrong was him, his doctor apparently explained that he is excellent health for the most part, yet he has the hips of man 30 years older that he actually is.  Continue reading

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Product-producing giant Johnson & Johnson, along with its DePuy unit, lost a $500 million verdict in a case involving five plaintiffs who alleged they were injured by defective hip implants. Specifically, the Pinnacle metal-on-metal implants, which are known to not only fail more quickly than advertised, but to cause serious injury in the form of tissue damage, bone erosion and high levels of metal in patients’ blood.wheelchair4

The decision followed a two-month trial and a one-week juror deliberation period. Jurors ultimately decided these artificial hips were not only defectively designed, but that the companies that sold them did not warn the public about the potential risk, as they had a duty to do.

This prompted jurors to award not just $140 million in compensatory damages, but an additional $360 million in punitive damages. Compensatory damages are intended to compensate the victim. Punitive damages, which are also paid to the victim(s), are intended to punish the defendant for egregious behavior and gross negligence. Continue reading

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