In Australia, ASR Hip Implants Fail in 430 Patients

Some 430 patients who received the DePuy Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implants in Australia have reportedly experienced device failure and other complications, according to an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald.   The DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in August of 2010 called for a worldwide recall of two of its hip replacement systems, the ASR XL Acetabular System and the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing Platform.  However, the first country to have acted on the two DePuy hip implants was Australia in December 2009 with Europe initiating its own recall a year later.  Lawsuits followed in the aftermath of the worldwide recall with at least 300 hip replacement lawsuits filed in Britain.  
 
The 430 patients had required a revision surgery to remove the implants, said the news report.   Depuy’s apparently defective ASR hip implant devices were implanted in about 5,500 Australians including the 430.  With thousands of Australians using the implant, better and immediate action from the DePuy Orthopaedics and the Australian Department of Health and Ageing have been urged by the Australian Senate committee to help the affected patients.       
 
The country’s health officials should immediately alert doctors, patients, and the general public to the DePuy device recall, the implants’ adverse effects on patients and treatment options, said the Australian committee which investigated the DePuy recall. The committee also urged the health department to find effective ways of monitoring the levels of cobalt and chromium in patients implanted with metal-on-metal hip devices.   Some patients would need to undergo a blood test to find out that they already have high levels of cobalt and chromium in their bloodstream.
 
The Australian market had featured Depuy’s ASR XL Acetabular system and ASR Hip resurfacing System in July of 2003. In July of 2003, the Australian market made available the DePuy’s ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. The Australian National Joint Registry was the first medical body to release data showing that the DePuy ASR devices have a premature failure rate between eight and 11 percent.   Study conducted by the British Joint Registry confirmed the findings after it also determined that 12 to 13 percent of the DePuy’s ASR devices fail within five years.  The worldwide recall of the DePuy hip systems followed the release of the recent study.
 
According to medical experts interviewed by the New York Times, the design of the hip implant was said to be the culprit why the device fails five years after it has been implanted instead of its average lifespan of 15 to 20 years.   With the intention of giving patients a wider range of motion, Depuy had designed a shallower cup and removed the plastic liner from the inside of the implant.   Instead, complications arise when the friction of the ball portion of the hip implant against the socket wears away cobalt and chromium particles from the device and into the soft tissue around the area.   The Depuy Lawsuit may have been put in place but only after some 93,000 patients have already received the apparently defective device.   
 
References:
smh.com.au/national/health/faulty-hip-implants-senate-inquiry-wants-action-on-ticking-time-bomb-20111122-1nsyc.html#ixzz1eY3Ru9qH

hip-recall-lawyer.com/news/2011/11/28/australian-committee-seeks-better-action-in-helping-depuy-hip-implant-patients/

depuy.com/aupatient