The possibility of being permanently confined in a wheelchair is now being faced by a man from Philadelphia, leading news reports say, after he underwent hip revision surgery. The man filed a complaint in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with claims against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics. The plaintiff has had a hip revision done to replace the damaged hip implant.


However, he was informed thereafter that he might not be able to walk properly and may be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Now he is claiming that the manufacturer is liable of the damages done by its devices and is raring to receive payment for damages.

 

Read more at:

Pinnacle Plaintiff Sues DePuy, Faces Confinement to Wheelchair From Injuries

_Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are prone of dying due to cardiac disease, the Science Daily reports, quoting findings from a recent study. However, "use of robotics in hip replacement surgery lowers margin of error".

The risk of cardiovascular disease among patients with RA is caused by disease-related inflammation as well as the risk factors which affect the general population, according to the latest study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy. Treatment of arthritis with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) also reduced the patient's risk of heart disease, the Science Daily says.

The findings formed part of a five-year-old study conducted among 400 patients with RA. Development of their ailment was measured by chemical markers of soreness and physical appearance. Treatment routines were closely supervised along with risk factors for heart disease, including weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking, according to the Science Daily.

After five years, 97 percent of the patients had been treated with DMARDs, dropping both the chemical markers of inflammation and the physical appearance of their arthritis. Patients were also looking after themselves better. Fewer patients were smokers and their BMI and blood pressure, had reduced (due in part to treatment for high blood pressure).

Analysis of patient data revealed that a new cardiovascular event such as heart disease, stroke or DVT could be predicted by intensity of their arthritis and by presence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and the level of triglycerides. Encouragingly treatment with DMARDs decreased the risk but COX-2 inhibitors appeared to predict a new event, Science Daily suggests.

Dr Wållberg-Jonsson from University Hospital, Umeå, in Sweden says that the swelling linked  with RA  raises the patients' risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular events. However it is possible to reduce this risk in a two-pronged attack by treating both the inflammation and traditional risk factors for heart disease, the Science Daily says.

RA is considered as a chronic disease, which means a disease that is impossible to cure. The patient may feel warm to the touch and might notice a decreased range of motion, as well as inflammation, swelling and pain in the areas around the affected joints, according to the Arthritis.org website.

Although, evidence shows that early diagnosis and aggressive treatment to put the disease into remission is the best means of avoiding joint destruction, organ damage and disability may lead  to implantation and later on the filing of a "DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit".

URL REFERENCES:

arthritis.org/types-what-is-rheumatoid-arthritis.php
web.jbjs.org.uk/content/84-B/7/991.full.pdf

The human hip joint is naturally formed by the top of the thigh bone, called the femur, meeting the socket of the pelvic bone, called the acetabulum. The top of the femur naturally fits into the acetabulum since it is shaped like a ball. The bones are also assisted by the cartilage the hip bone has, the cartilage cushions and protects the bones.  The most common reason someone can choose to undergo hip replacement surgery is hip arthritis, this is were the cartilage is worn down to where the bones inside the hip begin to rub against each other, causing a person pain.

Hip replacement surgery is normally the next logical step when hip arthritis begins to set in. Hip Replacement surgery is done to over 270,000 people each year, these surgeries are done to relieve pain, return mobility, and remove stiffness from injured hips of these patients. The hip replacement surgery happens in two parts, first the top of the femur or femoral stem is removed and replaced with an artificial ball, afterwards the acetabulum is replaced with an artificial shell where the ball will be placed.These two artificial parts are meant to simulate the body’s natural movement as closely as possible.

It is expected as with any surgery that there will be a short recovery time as the body heals and starts to adapt to the new artificial implants.  Some bodies however can actually reject the implants and cause more pain to the patient.  Implant rejection is not the only side effect one needs to look out for during surgery, other common side effects to surgery include: bone dislocation, leg length discrepancy, failure to improve all pain, bone fracture, change in component position, infection, and even loosening and dislodging of the implant.

However, once surgery is done and the body has healed from the procedure there are also other potentially harmful side effect the patient needs to look out for.  However, failure of the hip replacement system itself is what the patient needs to be most wary of.  A prime example of this is the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system, which is a newer hip replacement system by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., this hip replacement system has a 15% failure rate amongst its recipients, which is unusually high.

The high failure rate of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip replacement system has actually caused many of the injured to file a DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit against DePuy.  If you are a recipient of a Pinnacle Hip replacement system and think it is starting to fail you should visit a DePuy Pinnacle Lawyer about your legal options.  Many Lawyers will give a free consultation and usually do not charge unless your case receives compensation.