Senior Citizens With Osteoporosis May Want To Avoid Knee Replacement

Senior citizens should be made aware of the painful consequences of a failed knee replacement device and the need for revision surgery

Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - Knee replacement is a multi-billion dollar business that is expected to grow along with the aging of the baby-boomer population. Not only is demand expected to come from new elderly patients but there is an exploding market for knee revision surgery to fix broken DePuy knees. The DePuy knee fails prematurely and does not usually last the 20 or more years that the company sales representatives originally told physicians. An unacceptably high number of knee replacement patients have experienced knee replacement device failures. Infections, loosening, and wobbliness are the main reasons so many DePuy knee replacement patients have been forced to undergo painful, expensive artificial knee revision surgeries. While the actual DePuy knee device works quite well, attaching it and keeping it attached to the tibia and femur is problematic. A large number of seniors have chosen to hire a DePuy knee replacement attorney because of the pain and suffering a detached knee replacement device has caused, in order to file a claim for reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages and their pain and suffering. So many of the original DePuy knee replacement devices are expected to fail in the years to come that DePuy Synthes has invented and is marketing a totally new knee replacement device to meet this expected demand.

In March 2018, the DePuy Revision knee replacement device was launched in order to meet the demand created by the failures of the original version. Those failures are led by the debonding or ungluing of the device from the top of the tibia (shin bone). Surgeons were unaware of how critical it was to prepare the tibial surface and to use the exact amount of glue and water in order to create a mechanical as well as a chemical bond. Most Depuy knees fail because they become unglued.

When the DePuy knee comes unglued from the tibia it is impossible to even walk without excruciating pain and the feeling that the knee joint could buckle at any moment and cause a potentially catastrophic fall. The pain comes from the metal knee joint grinding against the tibia grinding down the bone and causing bone loss. The longer one waits and continues to walk on a debonded DePuy knee, the greater the bone loss will be and the more complicated revision surgery becomes. The new DePuy Revision knee specifically addresses the shortening of the tibia by offering various lengths to try and match up the lengths of both legs. Unfortunately, most DePuy knee replacement recipients are senior citizens that have preexisting conditions of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis making them potentially ineligible for the new DePuy knee. DePuy states that age should be considered when performing knee replacement and one can only assume that people of an advanced age are not prime candidates. Seniors with osteoporosis may not have sufficient bone density nor bone strength to tolerate the physical demands that the artificial knee places on the tibia. Many seniors have experienced tibial fractures due to the DePuy knee replacement device redirecting the torque from the knee joint where it was intended, down to the tibia that does not have the ability to absorb shock. When the tibia fractures the only treatment is to set a cast and remain immobilized until the bone heals, not exactly a return to the active lifestyle the company promised.

Senior Citizens With Osteoporosis May Want To Avoid Knee Replacement

Senior citizens should be made aware of the painful consequences of a failed knee replacement device and the need for revision surgery

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