DePuy Knee Replacement Fails to Live Up To Expectations

DePuy Knee Lawsuit News

The DePuy knee replacement device if failing to live up to the expectation put upon it by younger, more active recipients

Monday, April 16, 2018 - Total knee replacement was once thought of as a breakthrough medical treatment for individuals with knee injuries or osteoarthritis."

The DePuy knee replacement system, manufactured and marketed by Depuy Synthes, the medical devices unit of Johnson & Johnson, has been found, to dramatically underperform what was expected of it. Rather than getting back to leading a normal, active life, many DePuy knee patients report being in more pain than their original knee condition and that their artificial knee is so wobbly that they cannot walk without the use of a cane or walker. Rather than lasting 15 to 20 years as advertised, the device can fail in as little as one month and even during the initial period of physical therapy. Life-threatening complications have been reported by patients that have had the DePuy knee replacement such as infections, fractured leg bones, and severe falls.

While the majority of knee replacement surgery is performed on individuals age 65 and older, mostly retired and leading less active lives, many others are performed on younger people. These people may have occupations and interests that require physical mobility and more is expected from their artificial knee. People with the DePuy knee replacement may experience the knee locking, loosening, breaking and buckling when the load that they place on it increases. Construction workers, plumbers, landscapers, painters, roofers, and any occupation that requires walking around carrying heavy objects or frequent bending at the knee are at risk for knee failure and potentially catastrophic consequences. DePuy knee replacement patients that return to any occupation that requires climbing a ladder, carrying heavy objects, or going up or down stairs are at an increased risk of catastrophic knee failure.

When the DePuy knee replacement system fails, patients are given little choice other than to undergo surgery to repair the device or have the artificial knee device removed completely and replaced with a new one. Revision knee replacement surgery to repair the device often fails as the instability and pain may come from the looseness at the points of insertion to the fibula and tibia. Repairing the knee with shims may be impossible as the device may have been inserted at an improper angle and the lower and upper leg are not operating at the proper angle. In certain cases, unnatural stress on the tibia can cause the tibia to fracture and unable to heal as the stress continues with every step. Only a sophisticated computer post-implant x-ray can determine if this is the problem and most doctors do not know that such a procedure exists let alone why or how to perform the post-surgical analysis.

Other DePuy knee replacement patients report persistent swelling, redness and pain around the knee joint that can be caused by infection or scar tissue build up. Infections can occur from the unsterile packaging of the DePuy knee by the manufacturer or from metal and plastic shavings from the knee invading the tissue around the knee. Infections should be taken seriously as they can quickly enter the bloodstream and spread to vital organs including the brain and heart. Infections are normally treated with antibiotics however severe cases may require additional surgery to remove infected tissue. Scar tissue can also build up around the knee as the muscles and connective tissues heal from surgery. When this happens, the range of motion can be restricted and cause pain. DePuy knee lawsuits, this national drug litigation law firm is offering its significant resources to provide clients with the best DePuy knee attorney representation possible.

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