Success and Failure with the Zimmer Durom Implant

Since 2006 over 12,000 hip replacement patients in the United States have been implanted with a Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement component. The one-piece design of these implants makes them radically different from the popular replacement devices of previous decades which were made in three parts. Doctors were impressed by the high success rate enjoyed by the cups in the European market in the three years prior to their approval in the United States. However, when the devices started failing in many American patients, physicians rapidly became alarmed.

Patients started complaining of pain in their hips. Although there is some pain to be expected for the first few months after hip replacement surgery, Durom Cup recipients were starting to complain of problems well after the three-month recovery period. Doctors are now convinced that revision surgery will be needed in almost 5.7% of the patients who received the transplants prior to July, 2008.

In July, 2008 Zimmer voluntarily pulled their Durom Cup Replacement components from the American market and advised physicians not to use them. By August, however, the devices were back on the market and available to those physicians who completed a new Internet training program to learn the correct technique for implanting them. These new and improved techniques are supposed to cut the failure rate of the implant surgeries dramatically. However, the damage was already done, and many doctors had become skeptical about the Durom Cup Replacement to the point where they refused to take the extra training required for its use.

A lot of the unhappy patients who have experienced pain and suffering due to the loosening of their Durom Cup Replacements have filed lawsuits against the company. In addition, a group of stockholders in Indiana filed a class action suit stating that the company was negligent in informing investors about the problems in a timely manner. Even though the company did a lot of testing on the product and found no defects, they announced that they had set aside $47.5 million to pay these claims. They do admit that they were at fault for not offering adequate training to physicians who were using their product.

Any patient who has unexplained hip pains longer than three months following the surgery, has had a doctor tell them that their Durom Cup Replacement device has loosened, or has been told that they need revision surgery are being urged by product liability lawyers to seek restitution. Under the laws of most states, patients with these problems are entitled to monetary compensation. Anyone who got a Durom Cup implant prior to July, 2008 may want to check with an attorney to see if they are eligible for compensation under these laws.

Zimmer holdings has released a recall of their Zimmer Durom cup hip implant.  There are Zimmer hip lawsuits pending in multiple states across the US.  If you or a loved on has been subject to a Zimmer Durom implant, then you may want to contact a Zimmer Hip Lawyer to see if you have a case.

The Durom Cup Replacement device is once again being used in the U.S., but many physicians are still opting to use something else rather than risk the high rate of failure that has been associated with its use in this country. These doctors still believe that there is something intrinsically wrong with the design and are reluctant to spend the time it would take to be trained in the correct implant procedures. Patients need to look at the facts and decide for themselves if they want to take the risk, even with the improved odds brought about by better training. There is another way to look at the situation, though, and many patients are beginning to see the Durom Cup in a new light. After all, in spite of the 5.7% estimated failure rate for the device, it also has had an American success rate of 94.3%.