The experienced Zimmer Durom Hip Implant attorneys at HDH are aggressively investigating and reviewing cases where patients have experienced defects and failures involving the Durom hip replacement cups manufactured by multinational joint replacement device manufacturer Zimmer, Inc.

It is believed that Zimmer marketed the Durom hip replacement cup knowing that this hip cup was defectively designed and would result in a significant failure rate. In fact, Zimmer has marketed its Durom Hip Resurfacing System as being designed for use in young, active patients who are likely to outlive a conventional hip prosthesis.

 

On April 22, 2008, Dr. Larry Dorr, a world renowned orthopedic surgeon and Director of the Dorr Institute for Arthritis Research and Education, wrote the following letter to his colleagues at the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons warning of the failures and defects associated with Zimmer’s Durom hip cup (emphasis added):

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.

The FDA has been notified of the significant failure rate of certain models of Zimmer Hip Implants, specifically with the Durom hip cup, and some analysts have suggested that a recall of the Durom hip implant may be necessary. It is expected that this will lead to further Hip Implant recalls by the FDA.

If you or someone you know has had a Zimmer Durom Hip Implant surgically implanted and believe it has failed, was defective, needs to be removed, or has already been revised, you should have your potential defective hip case reviewed by the experienced Zimmer Durom attorneys at HDH. If you do not know if your hip implant is a Durom hip manufactured by Zimmer, Inc., call your surgeon and get a copy of your hospital medical chart.

Please retain your orthopedic surgeon's office chart, the operative reports for the original joint replacement surgery and the revision surgery, the device record for the original surgery from the hospital chart and the Zimmer Durom hip resurfacing cup.