Hip replacements can provide significant pain relief and increased mobility in individuals with arthritis or other painful conditions in the hip joint. A surgeon will remove the arthritic hip and replace the joint with a manufactured implant. Unfortunately, a number of patients who decide to have their hip replaced do not find relief but instead face many painful complications and require additional surgeries. Many of these complications are caused by metal-on-metal hip implants.
Manufactured hip implants can be made out of different kinds of materials, including plastic, ceramic, or metal. The implants have three main components: a cup that is against the pelvis, a ball that moves inside the cup for mobility, and a stem that secures the ball into the femur. When both the cup and the ball are made from metal, it is called a metal-on-metal hip implant. These metal-on-metal implants are marketed as longer-lasting, more durable for individuals with especially active lifestyles, and able to bear more weight than implants that use other materials.
Metal-on-metal implants can have serious complications
While manufacturers tout the durability of metal-on-metal hip implants, many people suffer complications within only a couple of years of undergoing their hip replacement. The following types of complications can occur and result in serious injury:
- Metal ions can flake off from the implant, causing metal to enter the bloodstream and resulting in metallosis (metal poisoning)
- The implant can loosen or fracture
- The hip joint can become dislocated
- Serious infection can form in the hip joint
The above complications can cause serious inflammation, pain, bone loss, damage to soft tissue or muscle, and more. Many people with metal-on-metal implants require subsequent revision surgeries after a short period of time and extensive medical treatment to cure the problems.
Victims can recover for their losses
There are a number of metal-on-metal hip implants manufacturers that have faced legal claims from victims of complications and injury due to these implants. If you have suffered unnecessary and unexpected injury due to a metal-on-metal implant, your first call should be to an experienced attorney to discuss how you can recover. The office of Michigan Injury Lawyers stands up for the rights of individuals who have suffered injury due to defective medical devices, so please call (888) 454-0801 for help today.