Cement Hip Replacement Warnings Ignored For Years

Orthopedic surgeons, medical device manufacturers and the medical community at large seem to have ignored warnings issued by a British patient watchdog in 2009, which indicated that surgical cement used in some hip replacement surgeries may cause fatal complications. 

Earlier this week, a report published in the British Medical Journal, highlighted the risk of death from Bone Cement Implantation Syndrome (BCIS), which may have killed at least 40 hip patients in the U.K. between 2005 and 2012.

Surgical cement is particularly of concern when used in patients undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty for fractured femur necks, as opposed to total hip replacements. Researchers indicated that the number of problems associated with the cement hip replacements continues to increase.

Did You Know?

Change Healthcare Data Breach Impacts Millions of Customers

A massive Change Healthcare data breach exposed the names, social security numbers, medical and personal information of potentially 100 million Americans, which have now been released on the dark web. Lawsuits are being pursued to obtain financial compensation.

Learn More

In March 2009, the now-defunct National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued a warning that intraoperative deaths were occurring after the use of bone cement during hip arthroplasty. The NPSA rapid response report indicated that at the time at least 26 deaths had already been linked to BCIS, and called orthopedic surgeons to take actions to mitigate the risks.

The report called on surgeons to consider patients with pre-existing cardiopulmonary dysfunction as those most likely at risk of BCIS and to “maintain particular vigilance during instrumentation and fixation of the implant.” It also called for incidents of peri-operative harm or patient death to be reported to the NPSA and the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Researchers in the recent study published this month suggest that the warning did little good . They report at least 62 severe patient injuries or deaths have now been linked to BCIS.

“Three-quarters of the deaths in this study have occurred since that alert, suggesting incomplete implementation or effectiveness of those mitigation measures,” the researchers concluded. “The fact that deaths have continued clearly shows that the implementation of mitigation measures set out in the alert was suboptimal, or that their effectiveness is suboptimal, or both.”

On June 1, 2012, the key parts of the NPSA were folded into the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) commissioning board, and researchers say it is unclear how much the NPSA’s reports and warnings affected patient care in that country.

They did not have any information on how frequently patients had been severely injured or died due to BCIS in the United States or other countries.

Hip hemiarthroplasty involves the replacement of one half of the joint with an artificial surface, leaving the other part in the natural state. This partial hip replacement procedure is most commonly performed following a hip fracture involving the neck of the femur.

BCIS occurs when the insertion of the surgical cement appears to cause fat and bone marrow contents to be released in the bloodstream. This can lead to a sudden pulmonary embolism, which can cause respiratory problems and cardiac arrest minutes after the cement is applied.

Researchers reported that 80% of the 41 known deaths in the U.K. happened on the operating table. They estimated that BCIS occurs once for every 2,900 hip replacement procedures for fractured neck of femur. No one cement or implant has been linked to BCIS.

0 Comments

Share Your Comments

I authorize the above comments be posted on this page*

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Top Stories

Ozempic and Rybelsus Side Effects Led to Ileus, Nausea and Vomiting, Lawsuit Alleges
Ozempic and Rybelsus Side Effects Led to Ileus, Nausea and Vomiting, Lawsuit Alleges (Posted yesterday)

A Kentucky man's lawsuit claims Ozempic and Rybelsus side effects led to multiple trips to the emergency room due to nausea, vomiting and other reactions to his intestinal muscles being unable to push food through his digestive tract.

Multi-Day Suboxone Lawsuit Status Conference Being Held To Review Census Protocol and Procedures
Multi-Day Suboxone Lawsuit Status Conference Being Held To Review Census Protocol and Procedures (Posted yesterday)

Lawyers will be meeting with the MDL judge presiding over all Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits on October 4 and 5, 2024, to finalize information needed to select a group of representative cases for bellwether discovery and trial.

Bard Settlement Reached To Resolve Hernia Mesh Lawsuits, With “Multi-Year” Payout Structure
Bard Settlement Reached To Resolve Hernia Mesh Lawsuits, With “Multi-Year” Payout Structure (Posted 2 days ago)

Lawyers have reached a confidential settlement agreement to resolve tens of thousands of Bard hernia mesh lawsuits after six years of litigation, but individuals must still agree to participate and settle their claims.