8/26/2010: DePuy ASR Hip Implant Recall

DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, announced Thursday, August 26, 2010, it is recalling the ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System due to higher than expected rates of failures causing patients to undergo a second hip replacement procedure. The DePuy ASR Hip Implant System is a large diameter metal-on-metal system.  The ASR System has been sold worldwide since 2004 and sold in the United States since 2005.

 

According to DePuy, data shows that within five years, one in eight patients required a revision surgery, or a second hip replacement.  Problems leading to repeat hip replacement surgery include loosening of the parts, infections, fractures, dislocations, metal sensitivity and hip and leg pain. 

 

This recall comes over five months after the March 6, 2010 letter DePuy Orthopaedics sent to healthcare providers recognizing that Australian data showed a higher than expected failure rate of the ASR hip implant system.  The recall also comes more than eight months after the New York Times reported in a December 10, 2009 article that DePuy Orthopaedics stated the ASR System had a high early failure rate.

 

DePuy is encouraging patients to contact the company if they are having problems with their ASR Hip System.  Patients should be extremely careful about signing any documents before having them reviewed by an attorney.  Patients affected by this recall should also hire an attorney to assist them in preserving important evidence.

 

Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere, LLP has over thirty years experience in handling medical cases and working with medical device manufacturers to resolve these types of product liabilty cases.  The attorney's at Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere, LLP have developed their expertise in this field through extensive handling of hip implant failure cases including those regarding the ASR Hip System.

 

 

If you or a loved one has experienced problems with the ASR Hip System, contact us for a free consultation.

 

 

 

Gas explosions and chemical plant explosions exact a devastating toll on the communities and families impacted.  For those who have been injured or for families who have experienced the loss of a loved one in an explosion, life will never be the same.  While handling the devastating injuries, families may experience the loss of their primary income.  For communities impacted by an explosion, there begins a slow rebuilding process. Often businesses must shut down for a period for repairs to their facilities while homeowners may have to be relocated while their homes are repaired.

 

The firm of Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere, LLP has experience in helping those whose lives have been impacted by an explosion obtain justice. In 2005, a chemical plant located in Houston, Texas exploded causing injuries and property damage to nearby residents.  Attorneys Charles R. Houssiere, III and Monica C. Vaughan successfully represented residents in a lawsuit against the owners and operators of the plant.

 

If you have been injured or damaged by a gas explosion or plant explosion, the attorneys of Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere, LLP can help you determine whether the explosion was caused by the negligence of anyone and help you obtain justice from those responsible.  Contact our offices at (713) 626-3700 for a free consultation or fill out our on line questionnaire and someone will contact you.

Baxter International is recalling its Colleague infusion pumps from the American market under an agreement with federal regulators that sought to fix problems like battery failures and software errors, according to a report in The New York Times. The article goes on to state that the Food and Drug Administration said on April 23 that infusion pumps used to administer drugs and liquids were linked to more than 56,000 complaints of injuries, deaths and malfunctions from 2005 to 2009. "There are just under 200,000 of these pumps in use" at hospitals and other medical facilities, a Baxter spokeswoman said on Monday. Bob Parkinson, Baxter’s chaiman and chief executive, said "the situation has languished far beyond what it should have," when speaking to shareholders on May 5, 2010.

Infusion pumps are devices most commonly found in hospitals, delivering fluids, medicine and nutritional liquids via a timing mechanism that controls the amount of medication a patient receives.

The Los Angeles Times reports that by the end of last week, the FDA had rejected Baxter’s corrective action plan for the Colleague pumps. The agency called the plan "unacceptable." The FDA said Baxter must "recall and destroy" all of its Colleague pumps, saying the action was based on "a long-standing failure" of the company to correct serious problems with them.

Please contact Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere if you or a loved one believe you have been injured by this product

More about in fusion pumps:  http://hdhtex.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14:medtronic-minimed-quick-set-paradigm-infusion-pump-recalled&catid=4:medical&Itemid=12

Minimally invasive total knee replacement, such as Zimmer’s Nexgen MIS Knee Implants, involving a smaller incision than standard knee replacement surgery, have recently been questioned by orthopedic surgeons at the American Association of Orthopedic Surgery’s Annual Meeting 2009.