The plaintiffs filing cases against DePuy Orthopedics have been consolidated, news reports say, to make it easier for both parties. Ms. Debra Sheheen filed a motion to remand her case from the federal court, according to court reports, but DePuy countered it by filing a brief in opposition. This motion to oppose the petition of the plaintiff was filed by DePuy Orthopedics claiming that the case of Ms. Sheheen needs to remain in federal court.


The ASR case of Ms. Sheheen was filed last August 23, 2013 at the South Carolina District Court. However, it was transferred in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the United States District Court for the North District of Ohio last August 30, 2013. The presider of the MDL cases is Judge David A. Katz and he will also be giving the ruling for the jurisdictional issue of the case filed by Ms. Sheheen. The ruling is expected to be released before the end of 2013.

 

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DePuy Files Brief in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion in Federal DePuy ASR Multidistrict Litigation
 
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Hip replacement surgery includes mimicking mechanisms of the hip with a artificial implant to restore the damaged bearing surfaces that are causing pain, medical experts say. In total hip replacement both the thigh bone (femur) and the socket are replaced with synthetic implant materials. However, some patients fear the role of metallosis in DePuy ASR hip implant failure.

Metallosis is the result of the body reacting to a metal implant. The immune system sees this device as foreign. It mounts a defense against the prosthesis (implant) and tries to rid itself of it. Inflammation and scarring around the implant are the result, according to the bonesmart.org website.

What most patients fear with their metal hip implants such as the DePuy ASR hip implant of DePuy Orthopaedic, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, occurs when tiny flecks of metal shred off and are released into the blood stream. These tiny flecks are called metal ions which becomes the focus of destruction in the bone and soft tissues of a person as the body tries to respond against them.

Despite the great risk it poses among patients, still there are many people that availed of such surgical procedure, especially those suffering from osteoarthritis, which is considered a serious public health problem. There are some 44 million in the United States at risk for this potentially debilitating disease, which is responsible for the 1.5 million fractures (broken bones) annually.

They pursued surgery because the design of the implant offers renewed stability and function through which it can relieve pain, help a person hip joint work well, and restore normal mobility. However, as surgeons in Boston sliced through tissue adjacent to a failed artificial hip in a 53-year-old man, they found out what looked like a biological dead zone. There were matted strands of tissue stained gray and black; a large strip of muscle near the hip no longer contracted.

Dr. Young-Min Kwon, the lead orthopedic surgeon on the surgical procedure, said the damage was more extensive than tests had indicated and might be permanent. Similar scenes are playing out at different hospitals nationwide as a growing number of patients wanted their faulty metal-on-metal artificial hips removed and replaced. More than a decade ago, some researchers had warned that the hips shed tiny pieces of metallic debris that posed potential health threats to patients. This is one of the reasons why DePuy Orthopeadic voluntarily had a DePuy hip recall in 2010.

URL REFERENCES:

medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/osteoporosis

bonesmart.org/joint-replacement-surgery/hip/?gclid=CP6MpeeZ-bICFQjZQgodvnYAyQ

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