Following
the recall of the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABGII hip implants in July of this
year, physicians are still attempting to notify all those who received one of
these implants about the potential hazards. Stryker Orthopedics sent out an
Urgent Safety Notice to hospitals and physicians regarding these two hip
implants in April prior to the recall in July. Canada recalled the two hip
implant devices in May, soon after the safety notice went out. It is fairly
likely that many of those recipients of the Rejuvenate or ABGII are as yet
unaware of the recall due to the process involved in notifying all patients.
Potential Hazards of the Rejuvenate and
ABGII
Marketing
data states that there are between 30,000 and 50,000 recipients of the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABGII hip implants across the globe. In their safety letter
Stryker noted that the potential hazards of these implants included fretting,
corrosion and “excessive metal debris and/or ion generation.” In fact, many Rejuvenate and ABGII patients
began experiencing adverse health effects soon after their implant surgery.
Some of the more common negative health effects include inflammation, hip or groin
pain, popping or creaking noises, failure of the hip due to tissue damage or
metal toxicity which comes with its own set of negative health symptoms. Other
recipients of the Rejuvenate or ABGII experienced no negative symptoms for a
year, two years, or even more and some patients have yet to experience adverse
health effects.
The Likelihood of Negative Health
Effects
Unfortunately,
statistically speaking, a fair number of those who have not yet had negative
health effects may see those effects in the future. In other words, the likelihood that the hip
will fail, inflammation or pain will set in or metal toxicity will occur is
much greater than originally believed. This is seriously bad news for all the
patients who put their trust in a product that was supposed to be safe for
implantation into their body. When metal hips fail or there are symptoms of
metal toxicity, revision surgery could be the only option. As many as 50,000
people in the U.S. alone will be required to go through revision surgery due to
a failed hip implant.
