Houston Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Devices & Implants

Durom Cup Hip Replacement: A Victim’s Struggle

Scott Kappes — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:09:00 GMT

A great article posted on the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette website Monday tells the story of a California woman who has experienced numerous problems with the Zimmer Durom cup hip device. Trudie Millerburg, an active 63 year-old, had total hip replacement surgery in April of 2007. Her surgeon, world renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lawrence Dorr, chose to use the Zimmer Durom cup hip replacement system in Millburg’s surgery, a decision he would soon regret.

After the operation the Durom cup was supposed to fuse with bone creating and strong and permanent hip replacement solution; however, in Millburg’s case, as in many others, the Durom cup loosened and began to rub against her nerves, causing excruciating pain. Millburg has since had surgery to replace the Durom cup with a more conventional hip replacement device, but this device is does not suit her active lifestyle has dislocated on two separate occasions. She will undergo an additional surgery in August that she hopes will be a more permanent solution that fits her lifestyle.

Zimmer, the world’s largest hip replacement manufacturer, suspended U.S. marketing of the Durom cup last summer after they were notified by Millburg’s surgeon, Dr. Dorr, of an extremely high rate of failure that he and his colleagues had seen with Durom cup. According to Zimmer the Durom cup is a safe and effective product and the increased rate of failure that has been seen is due to a lack of training on how to properly implant the device. Dorr opposes this reasoning insisting that the Durom cup has a fundamental design flaw that prevents it from properly fusing with the bone. Dorr expressed his opinion to his fellow surgeons at this year’s annual meeting of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Millburg has joined with many others who have experienced similar complications with the Durom cup in filing a lawsuit against the manufacturer in an effort to recoup compensation for the $150,000 worth of medical bills and pain and suffering that she suffered as a result of Zimmer’s allegedly defective product.

Millerburg can’t imagine a sedentary lifestyle and still swims and walks regularly despite some pain. But she wants to fully regain her independent lifestyle. She feels limited by her hip brace and hopes the upcoming surgery will finally turn the page on her troubles.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Surgeons Say Durom Cup Has Flawed Design

Scott Kappes — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:00:19 GMT

The surgeon that originally blew the whistle on Zimmer Durom Cup hip replacement problems, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, has presented his theory on why these devices fail. Dorr along with three of his colleagues, Dr. Zhinian Wan, Dr. William Long, and Dr. Manish Dastane, presented their thoughts on the problems with the Durom Cup to their fellow surgeons at the annual American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting this past February.

Dr. Dorr and his colleagues showed evidence that the Durom Cup hip replacement device failed fixation in many cases leading to loosening of the cup in 25 percent of cases and clinical failure in 2 out of every 10 patients that had the device implanted. The manufacturer, Zimmer, claims that the elevated failure rate of the Zimmer Durom Cup device is due to improper surgical technique used to implant the device; however, Dr. Dorr and his colleagues do not agree with this explanation. Dr. Dorr blames the Durom Cup’s failure on the cup geometry and sharp peripheral fins which do not allow for proper fixation of the device.

Dorr and his colleagues no longer use the Durom Cup hip replacement device.

Below is a video featuring one of Dorr's colleagues Dr. William Long discussing the problems associated with the Durom Cup hip replacement.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Zimmer's 4th Quarter Earnings Slide After Durom Cup Sales Halted

Scott Kappes — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:12:16 GMT

Zimmer has posted a 37 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income. The drop has been tied to a decreased demand for prosthetic devices coupled with funds being set aside to for anticipated claims linked to the Durom Cup hip replacement system.

Zimmer Holdings Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of artificial joints, also announced that they expect 2009 earnings to fall short of Wall Street expectations. The company has attributed their lowered expectations of 2009 earnings to the continuing worldwide recession.

In July of 2008 Zimmer temporarily suspended U.S. sales of the Durom Cup hip replacement system after surgeons reported a disproportionate number of patients experiencing problems with the cup loosing. These problems often resulted in repeat surgery and the removal of the Durom Cup hip implant. Durom Cup sales account for between 5 and 10 percent of Zimmer’s total hip-replacement market.

If you or a loved one has experienced problems with a Durom Cup Hip Replacement please fill out the form on this page for a free case evaluation from a Durom Cup Hip Replacement Lawyer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Durom Cup Problems Prompt Calls For Tracking System

Scott Kappes — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:51:46 GMT

In July the world’s largest manufacturer of hip replacement products, Zimmer, announced that they were suspending sales of the Durom Cup artificial hip replacement after concerns were raised about possible design flaws. Prominent Los Angeles orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, first raised questions about the device last year when he began to see problems in patients that he implanted with the Durom Cup. Patients that had planned on living pain free lives following their hip replacement surgery began returning to him in agony months later, many in need of additional surgery or another replacement.

If these patients would have been living in Australia, Great Britain, Norway, or Sweden they may have been spared the pain and suffering that they have endured as a result of being implanted with the Durom Cup. This is because in the United States, unlike the above mentioned countries, a national database and tracking system for artificial joints does not exist. A tracking system for these types of devices could drastically increase feedback and response to problems associated with artificial joints.

The risk in the United States that a patient will need a replacement procedure because of a flawed product or technique can be double the risk of countries with databases, according to Dr. Henrik Malchau of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Experts say that the United States wastes billions of dollars annually on medical treatments which may not work. But the financial and human consequences are also large when evidence exists but is not collected.

Currently the FDA is in charge of monitoring problems with devices like the Durom Cup hip replacement, but the agency is often overwhelmed and simply does not have the resources to keep up with all of the products and devices that they monitor.

There have been several efforts over the past decade to create such a database and tracking system but all have failed for one reason or another, but hopefully with a new awareness and ever expanding market a solution can be found that will offer a better way to ensure that less innocent people are living in agony due to problems with artificial joints.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Medtronic Issues Recall for Heparin Coated Equipment

Scott Kappes — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:19:59 GMT

Last week fallout continued resonate from the recall of Baxter International's heart surgery medication heparin, as popular medical device maker, Medtronic, issued a recall for some disposable devices used during heart surgery. The devices are coated with Medtronic’s Carmeda BioActive surface that includes heparin. The company has not received any reports of injury from the devices, but said that they issued the recall as a precautionary measure.

The coating is used on blood oxygenators, reservoirs, pumps and other disposable products that are used during the bypass surgery, the company said.

At least 81 deaths have been linked to contaminated batches of heparin. These patients experienced classic signs of allergic reaction including swelling of larynx and plummeting blood pressure among other symptoms.

The FDA suspects that the contamination was a deliberate attempt to pass off a similar but much cheaper product as raw heparin. The contaminant, identified as chondroitin sulfate, is derived from animal cartilage and costs about 100 times less to produce than heparin, which is extracted from pig intestines.

Baxter claims that the contamination occurred somewhere in its Chinese supply line and was not detected sooner because of the close similarity to of the contaminant to heparin. Normal tests to ensure quality could not differentiate between chondroitin sulfate and actual heparin.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes