Knee Replacement Recalls: Are You At Risk?

By Staff Writer

Did you or a loved one recently have knee replacement surgery?

Knee replacements are becoming more common in the United States. An estimated 700,000 people have knee replacement surgery each year. It’s estimated that by 2030 an astonishing 3.48 million people per year will need knee replacement surgery.

Unfortunately, over the past fews years there has been numerous knee replacement recalls. In fact, between 2003-2013, there were over 700 knee replacement implant recalls.

The reasons for these recalls varied from package mislabeling and sizing issues to faulty design and possible fracturing. A delay in surgery because of a poorly designed knee replacement can increase your risk for infection. A faulty design could cause the implant to loosen or failure prematurely. All of these recalls put patients at unnecessary risk.

Major manufactures with knee replacement recalls include: Stryker, Biomet, DuPuy, Wright and Smith & Nephew.

Signs Your Knee Replacement is Failing

Some common signs that your knee replacement may be failing include:

• Persistent and/or increasing pain – Pain may be a sign that the components of your knee replacement are loosening or wearing out. It could also be a sign of infection.
• Decrease in your range of motion – If you’re limping, have stiffness in your knee or instability, it could be a sign that your knee replacement if failing.

When your knee replacement implant fails, oftentimes revision surgery is needed. Revision surgery can put you at unnecessary risk and potentially cause more damage to the body tissue.

According to a paper published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, the most common reasons for revision surgery was infection (25%), mechanical loosening (16.1%) and implant failure/breakage (9.7%).

Contact your doctor today if you’re concerned that your knee replacement is failing.

If you believe that you or a loved one may have been injured because of a defective knee replacement, contact Gilreath & Associates for a free legal consultation.

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