If you underwent hip replacement surgery in the last several years, and if the implant was the Zimmer Durom Cup system, you may be at risk for premature failure!  On July 22, 2008, Zimmer stopped selling its Durom Hip acetabular component including a letter to surgeons and patients suggesting close monitoring of the hip.  It seems Zimmer’s actions are arguable in response to perhaps a letter from a highly respected orthopaedic surgeon in Los Angeles.  On April 22, 2008, Dr. Larry Dorr, a paid Zimmer consultant who has implanted thousands of hip devices over the years wrote to his colleagues at the American Association of Hip  and Knee Surgeons warning of the failures and defects associated with Zimmer’s Durom cup.  Dr. Dorr wrote:

This failure rate has occurred within the first two years.  In the first year the x-rays looked perfect.  We have revised four that did not have any radiolucent lines or migration (and John Moreland revised one).  These early cups fooled us, but the symptoms were so classic for a loose implant that we operated on the patients.  when we hit on the edge of the cup it would just pop free.  As time goes by the cups begin developing radiolucent lines.  We now have one cup at two years that has actually migrated a short distance.  It has tilted into varus.  We do not believe the fixation surface is good on these cups.  Also there is a circular cutting surface on the periphery of the cup that we believe prevents the cup from fully seating.  We stopped using the cup after the first revisions.

     Strikingly, Dr. Dorr’s letter went on to state:

We have notified Zimmer.  The FDA has been notified and we will notifiy them of our continued revisions.  The company [Zimmer] does not believe it should pull the cup from the market so I am notifying all of my colleagues of our failure rate with this cup.  I went through a similar scenario with the Sulzer cup failures where I was the only one experiencing revisions at the beginning and basically it was assumed that it was our technique.  I can assure you that this goes beyond technique.  I learned my lesson in not informing everyone about this magnitude of  failures with the Sulzer cup problem, so it is my obligation to do so with this cup.

     Not surprisingly, Zimmer blames the high failure rate on surgeon error in the technique used to install the device, but its decision to stop selling the product seems to suggest otherwise.  In Dr. Dorr’s patient population, apparently 8% of his Zimmer Durom patients needed revision surgery within two years.  It would seem logical to assume that the number of device failures will only increase as time goes by.  Also, it appears that Zimmer’s legal department may be sending legal documents to Durom patients that, if signed, may act as a legal release of liability protecting Zimmer from a future lawsuit!!!

     If you or a loved one have this device in you, it may be in your best interest to call a lawyer you trust to look into this matter.  At Ronaldson & Kuchler, we have experience in suing product manufacturer of failed hip implants.  You need an experienced product liability lawyer with particular knowledge of medical devices on your side.  Feel free to give us a call or submit a confidential inquiry to our office.  You owe it to yourself or your loved one to have an experienced medical device lawyer on your side, because you know in your heart that Zimmer will hire the best lawyers it can find to protect its corporate money!!  Call or email us today!  Good luck!