The plaintiff in a DePuy hip injury lawsuit has based her claim in part on her decline in mobility after she had to undergo corrective surgery on her allegedly defective hip implant. Corrective, or revision, surgery is often more difficult and painful than the initial hip replacement surgery, patients often suffer a decrease in mobility that makes it difficult to walk and enjoy other activities.
Lawsuit Documents Describe Implant Mechanics
In court documents, the woman says that doctors implanted a DePuy Pinnacle hip implant in 2010. The system used required the surgeon to insert a metal femoral stem into the femur bone. At the top of the stem, a metal head makes contact with a metal liner inside the titanium acetabular cup. The head rotates in order to simulate the natural hip joint. The DePuy hip injury lawsuit claims the hip replacement failed and required the woman to undergo revision surgery less than four years after her initial surgery.
Revision Surgery
Although some risks after revision surgery are the same as for the initial surgery, according to medical professionals revision surgery has additional risks that the initial surgery does not. The length of a patient’s leg may be affected after revision surgery as bone is removed during the first surgery. Because the tissues surrounding the bone are weaker in addition to the bone itself, dislocation after revision surgery is a risk. One study found that dislocation could be as high as seven percent. Hip revision also tends to have less favorable outcomes than the first-time replacement. There is often longer hospital stay as well as a longer period of recovery.
Additionally, range of motion after revision surgery can be less than after the initial implant. There are often longer periods of discomfort and pain following revision surgery. The DePuy hip injury lawsuit also alleges that the second device may not have as long a life expectancy as the first device, further adding to the complications patients suffer after undergoing revision surgery.
Do You Have a DePuy Hip Injury? Call Attorney Group Today.
If you or a loved one has had to undergo revision surgery after a hip implant, contact Attorney Group today to learn whether you qualify for a DePuy hip injury lawsuit. You may be eligible for a product liability or personal injury claim.
