Knee Replacement Devices
Knee replacement devices are designed to last 15 years but many fail prematurely. Examples of knee devices that may have high early failure rates include Biomet's Vanguard, DePuy's TruMatch, Smith & Nephew's Journey, Profix and Genesis Knees, Stryker's Triathlon and Zimmer's Nexgen.
Since 2005, thousands of knee implants have been sold, many of which now require revision surgery.
Orthopedic surgeons have found many of these devices to have unacceptably high failure rates, causing otherwise unnecessary pain and revision surgeries for patients.
For example, Richard Berger and Craig Della Valle from Rush University Medical Center presented a study to the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons that showed that after only two years of use, the Zimmer NexGen knee replacements had a failure rate of 9.3% and that 36% of implants were loose. Over half of the 100 patients in the study experienced knee pain and other problems from loosening of the implant.
Further, studies of data from England and Wales have shown an unusually high failure rate for DePuy Preservation knee replacement implants.
A regulatory report released in England analyzed data from the England and Wales National Joint Registry, which illustrated that the mobile bearing variant of DePuy's Preservation knee had a higher than expected early revision rate compared to other unicompartmental knee systems. The exact cause for the high revision rate is not known but it may be due to many factors.
Patients with the implants commonly experience:
- Device Failure
- Need for Revision Surgery
- Loosening of Implant Components
- Knee Pain
- Other Knee Complications
Individuals who have had problems with a knee implant may have a legal case against the manufacturer for product liability. Manufacturers have a legal obligation to provide products to the general public that are safe and free of defects to the best of their ability.
Contact Us
Patients who suffer from the failures of the device may be eligible for compensation. Contact our office by using the form below for a free evaluation of your case to find out if you can make a claim for the problems with your knee implant.
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