Candidates for Knee Replacement

DePuy Knee Lawsuit News

More and more people are having knee replacement surgery

Friday, December 29, 2017 - With the possible exception of one's lower back, there is no other part of the body that we use more than our legs. Healthy, pain-free knee joints are vital to the functions of walking, running, climbing, squatting down, and every movement. When injury or old age causes knee pain or a lack of mobility, people would in the past turn to arthroscopic knee surgery for relief. Nowadays orthopedic health care professionals are quick to recommend total knee replacement surgery as a potential solution for every knee problem rather than arthroscopic knee surgery or simply prescribing knee pain medication. Knee replacement surgery involves removing the damaged parts of the knee and replacing them with ceramic, plastic and metal parts like the ones in the DePuy knee replacement system.

Leading medical website, WebMD.com writes that doctors recommended knee replacements for patients with severe knee pain that limits one's ability to perform everyday activities, for those experiencing knee pain day or night, and for anyone with persistent knee swelling of knee stiffness. In lieu of surgery, doctors may recommend exercise, physical therapy, nutritional supplements and what may be the most effective form of knee pain therapy, losing weight.

There is no particular age to expect to need a knee replacement although the majority occur in individual age 50-80. Arthritis is frequently cited as the reason for needing a knee replacement, if a person suffered a previous injury or due to normal wear and tear on the joint by the time of old age. Knee replacement surgery can be a substitute for requiring a cane, walker or wheelchair. Rather than opt for knee replacement surgeries patients may choose to have medications injected directly into the knee joint. Corticosteroid injections can reduce inflammation and offer pain relief lasting several months. In the United States, there are over 600,000 total knee replacements each year making it the most widely performed surgical procedure.

About DePuy Orthopedic

DePuy Orthopedic is a global leader and one of the first orthopedic companies in the United States in the skeletal joint replacement market and is a part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices group. The company specializes in orthopedic devices and supplies, including hip, knee, extremity, cement and operating room products. DePuy was first authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010. Such authorization clears a product to be brought to market without human clinical trials were similar to other knee replacement devices already on the market. Over 500,000 patients have received the DePuy knee replacement system. Because of its propensity for failing, the LPS Diaphyseal Sleeve manufactured by Depuy Synthes, Johnson and Johnson's orthopedic unit from 2008 to 2012, and a component of the Knee replacement system, was the subject of a Class I recall, a categorization reserved for medical device whose malfunction can cause serious injury or even death, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency has received numerous complaints of the device malfunctioning causing a fracture in the sleeve. According to the FDA, such a joint failure could lead to, "loss of limb, infection, compromised soft tissue or death." The FDA is advising patients to closely monitor with follow up visits for pain or infection before proceeding with revision surgery. DePuy knee lawyers are offering consultations to patients with a failed or failing knee replacement system.

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