Posts Tagged ‘durom’

Makers of Zimmer Durom Hip Cup Sued for Failures

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

As a people, American’s are living much longer than we used to. This is great news! But with a longer lifespan also comes new health problems. Because we’re living longer and more active lives, we sometimes outlive the life of our joints. In that case, they need to be replaced, through such procedures as hip or knee replacement surgery. Normally, these operations give people a new lease on their lives, but this isn’t always the case, and there can be complications. If you or someone you know has received a hip replacement, they will need to know the following information about faulty Zimmer Durom hip cups used in that operation.

If you’re an older American, it’s likely that you or someone that you know has needed a hip replacement. These surgeries, many of which involved the Zimmer Durom hip cup, are often seen as a way for otherwise healthy and active seniors to live longer, healthier lives, doing what they love to do. Normal wear and tear can lead to joint pain severe enough that hip replacement surgery is recommended. Chronic conditions such as arthritis also often lead to hip replacement, as do falls which lead to broken hips which have caused joint damage.

Hip replacement technology has allowed thousands of Americans to continue their favorite and treasured activities. In it, the femur and hip joint are replaced, allowing for normal movement without pain. Until recently however, a young recipient of this surgery would likely need their replacement itself replaced eventually, causing pain. Zimmer Durom hip cups promised to change that, with the marketing slogan that younger people could live their whole lives with one hip replacement. Unfortunately, this claim has not held true under scrutiny.

While the Zimmer Durom hip cup was marketed specifically for its longevity, this has not held true during use. Because of marketing claims, many hospitals have been using this specific device for younger hip replacement patients, with the promise that they will not need hip replacement surgery again. However, this claim hasn’t held true. At one hospital, 12 percent of patients needed surgery to replace their replacement within two years! When contacted, the company maintained that this was due to ’surgeon error’ and not to faulty hip replacements.

But in fact, this does not seem to be the case at all. When the company did their own evaluation of the Zimmer Durom hip cup, they found that eight percent needed to be replaced within two years. This is not what they promised in their marketing literature, and not the outcome that either patients or doctors wanted or expected. Because this was promised as a solution that avoided surgery, not added more, the faulty nature of the implants is leading to a class action law suit.

If you have received a hip replacement, now is the time to ask your doctor if it involved the Zimmer Durom hip cup. If you have had problems, and even if you have not yet, you may be able to join the class action suit against the company.

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Faulty Zimmer Durom Hip Cups Lead to Lawsuits

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

As a people, American’s are living much longer than we used to. This is great news! But with a longer lifespan also comes new health problems. Because we’re living longer and more active lives, we sometimes outlive the life of our joints. In that case, they need to be replaced, through such procedures as hip or knee replacement surgery. Normally, these operations give people a new lease on their lives, but this isn’t always the case, and there can be complications. If you or someone you know has received a hip replacement, they will need to know the following information about faulty Zimmer Durom hip cups used in that operation.

A hip replacement is a common surgery once you reach a certain age. If you’re over the age of 60, it’s like that you or one of your friends have had one. As we get older, our joints begin to wear out from years of use, especially if we’ve been active. Joints can also be damaged by progressive diseases such as arthritis, as well as damage from hip breakage. When this occurs, a hip replacement can be a good option for continuing to live an active and healthy life. However, not all companies respect that wish, which is the issue with the Zimmer Durom hip cup.

Hip replacement technology has allowed thousands of Americans to continue their favorite and treasured activities. In it, the femur and hip joint are replaced, allowing for normal movement without pain. Until recently however, a young recipient of this surgery would likely need their replacement itself replaced eventually, causing pain. Zimmer Durom hip cups promised to change that, with the marketing slogan that younger people could live their whole lives with one hip replacement. Unfortunately, this claim has not held true under scrutiny.

While the Zimmer Durom hip cup was marketed specifically for its longevity, this has not held true during use. Because of marketing claims, many hospitals have been using this specific device for younger hip replacement patients, with the promise that they will not need hip replacement surgery again. However, this claim hasn’t held true. At one hospital, 12 percent of patients needed surgery to replace their replacement within two years! When contacted, the company maintained that this was due to ’surgeon error’ and not to faulty hip replacements.

However, this excuse hasn’t held up under scrutiny. When the company themselves performed an evaluation of the Zimmer Durom hip cup, it was found that eight percent must be replaced surgically within two years. This is a far cry from the claims that those receiving this replacement would never need to undergo surgery again, and for many who received these implants, has led to pain and anguish. This has lead to the organization of a class action law suit against the company.

If you have received a Zimmer Durom hip cup, you may be able to sue the company as part of the class action law suit. Find out more today.

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Zimmer Durom Hip Cups are Faulty!

Monday, July 6th, 2009

The American people have begun living longer and healthier lives. But no matter how well you take care of yourself, there are always parts that don’t work quite as well as they used to, and as well as they need to for you to continue your active lifestyle. When this is the case, many people turn to such surgeries as hip and knee replacements. These have become common procedures that many people have performed each year, but this does not mean that they are without their complications. If you or someone you love has received a hip replacement, you’ll need to keep reading for important information about flawed Zimmer Durom hip cups.

If you’re an older American, it’s likely that you or someone that you know has needed a hip replacement. These surgeries, many of which involved the Zimmer Durom hip cup, are often seen as a way for otherwise healthy and active seniors to live longer, healthier lives, doing what they love to do. Normal wear and tear can lead to joint pain severe enough that hip replacement surgery is recommended. Chronic conditions such as arthritis also often lead to hip replacement, as do falls which lead to broken hips which have caused joint damage.

In hip replacement surgery, the femur and the hip joint are removed, and are replaced with artificial parts. In the past, these parts have often been subject to wear and tear, and have had to be replaced themselves, which can be difficult to an elderly patient to take. The Zimmer Durom hip cup was invented for the purpose of allowing young, active seniors who needed a hip replacement to get only one, that was designed to last the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for thousands of people, this promise has not held true.

The Zimmer Durom Hip Cup, marketed as a solution to the wear and tear that can happen to a hip replacement, is actually very prone to needing replacement itself. At one hospital, fully 12 percent of those who received these replacements needed another surgery to replace the Durom hip cup within two years, a staggering amount, especially when the hip replacement is supposed to last for a lifetime. A doctor at the hospital complained to the Zimmer Durom company, and was told the issue was with ’surgeon error.’

However, this excuse hasn’t held up under scrutiny. When the company themselves performed an evaluation of the Zimmer Durom hip cup, it was found that eight percent must be replaced surgically within two years. This is a far cry from the claims that those receiving this replacement would never need to undergo surgery again, and for many who received these implants, has led to pain and anguish. This has lead to the organization of a class action law suit against the company.

If you have received a hip replacement, now is the time to ask your doctor if it involved the Zimmer Durom hip cup. If you have had problems, and even if you have not yet, you may be able to join the class action suit against the company.

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Was there a Zimmer Durom Cup Recall or Not?

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Everyone involved in Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant surgeries in the United States, from company stockholders to implant patients to physicians are still unhappy with the way Zimmer Holdings, Inc. handled its American sales. Although many of these people were demanding a product recall after the device failed in a large number of patients, Zimmer has been clinging to the previous reputation established by successful surgeries in Europe instead of being quick to act on the problems that began to crop up in the U.S.

Even though Zimmer knew about the problem as early as January, 2008, it wasn’t until July of that same year that they finally suspended American sales of the device. They chose to spend the interim time looking into the allegations instead of eliminating the problem. They were skeptical that the implants could be defective as doctors were saying, because they had been used so successfully in Europe. Since they felt they needed to look elsewhere for the problem, they didn’t want to take the devices off the market until they were sure what the culprit was.

Using information taken from 3,100 implant surgeries, Zimmer put together a database of material so that their researchers could study the problem in detail. After a great deal of study, they determined that there was nothing wrong with the implant technology. What they found was that American doctors hadn’t received adequate training prior to starting to perform the surgeries. The implants had been designed differently from previous types of hip replacement devices, and surgeons needed to be much more precise about the way they implanted them than they’d ever needed to be before.

Since there was no evidence found saying that the implant device itself was to blame for the problems patients were having, no recall was ever issued. This leaves the way clear for them to put the implant back on the market once efficient methods of training are developed for doctors. Zimmer needed to develop a better way of teaching physicians the very precise skills required to do the hip replacement using the Durom Cup successfully.

It has been stated that the public demand for product recall was partially based on the fact that Zimmer had no post-surgical procedures in place to follow up on the surgeries. It was also argued that this isn’t their job as manufacturer, anyway, although a lot of people are convinced that once a manufacturer markets a product it should take responsibility for it throughout its working life.

Physicians clearly blame the device for the problems that are popping up. They point to the fact that a knee replacement device manufactured by Zimmer is still being used in the United States even though Austrian doctors stopped using it just three years after it was introduced because it failed in almost 40% of the cases in which it had been used. It’s easy to understand why doctors are feeling uneasy about using Zimmer products despite their previous reputation.

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