Stryker Hip Implant: The Silent Killer

This is Michael Brady Lynch, Lead Trial Attorney, for The Michael Brady Lynch Firm.
Imagine going through a painful hip replacement surgery only to find out that within a few months or even a few short years, your implant is slowly killing you. Many are facing this grim reality. They are realizing the metal implant used in their surgery is corroding. The corrosion is killing either the surrounding tissue or leaking dangerous cobalt into their bloodstream. Some have the implant break altogether.
Released in 2002, the V40 Femoral Head Hip Implant manufactured by Stryker was supposed to revolutionize hip replacements. Their new titanium alloy metal head was going to give more mobility, better stability, and reduction of wear over its ceramic counterpart. They were so confident their metal head was superior that they put it in almost 10 of their implant models. They were deadly wrong.
This August, Stryker quietly warned doctors that certain diameters or offsets of the V40 model could cause a host of debilitating injuries. The FDA nor the company itself issued a recall. However, independent studies have found that multiple versions of the implant are failing at a staggering rate. This is almost double from the ones listed by Stryker. Many implants are showing serious wear and corrosion within months or a few short years.
When the implant corrodes, it causes metallosis from the cobalt alloy of the implant to release into the blood stream, which can be lethal. Pseudo-tumors (pockets of fluid forming around the implant) form and tissue around the implant decay. This can lead to catastrophic dislocation. When dissociation occurs, the entire head of the implant detaches and can cause the inability to walk.
Studies have estimated that the rate of failure is 25% with V40 hip implants and that there are an estimated 400,000 implants at risk. Many people get their implant checked if they experience pain, swelling, rash, dislocation or a fracture. Many do not experience ANY symptoms. The only way to know for sure is to have a doctor perform certain tests.
Be warned that Stryker is not the only manufacturer that uses a mix-alloy blend in their hip replacement devices. Depuy, Wright, Zimmer, Omnilife and other manufacturers make the same device and are reporting widespread failures.