In his warning to doctors, Dorr referenced 10 revisions out of 165 hip surgeries involving the Durom Cup, with four additional surgeries then in the pipeline to replace failed Zimmer defective hip replacements.
"This failure rate has occurred within the first two years," Dorr writes. "In the first year the x-rays looked perfect. We have revised four that did not have any radiolucent lines or migration. 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."
Zimmer has refused to admit that there is a product defect with the Durom components and, instead, has argued that surgeons lack the required skill or finesse to be able to implant the Durom components. However, Zimmer stopped selling their hip replacement device in July 2008. The corporation went ahead and funded a study and found that 8 percent of the people that received the initial hip replacement required a revision surgery within a two year period. This has led many in the medical and legal communities to believe that the issue is with the replacement device and not with the surgeons.
Our firm is currently investigating claims for those people who have been implanted with Zimmer Durom hip replacement devices. If you would like a free case evaluation, please contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or at booths@pittmandutton.com.
