Zimmer Knee Replacement Problems To Be Highlighted in New Study

A new study will be presented to a group of orthopedic surgeons this week that is expected to highlight potential problems with at least one component of the Zimmer NexGen knee replacement system, which could be causing a number of the implants to fail. 

A tibial component that is part of the Zimmer NexGen knee replacement system, could be breaking loose from the cement used to bond it to the surrounding bone, causing the implants to fail, according to the findings of researchers from the Mayo Clinic.

The researchers are expected to present their findings today at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, according to a Dow Jones newswire report.

After examining data on 1,373 knee replacements conducted between 2000 and 2011 where the component was used, researchers found that nearly 4% of the implants failed. Approximately half of those Zimmer knee replacement problems were due to a phenomenon called isolated debonding. Researchers indicated that it was the first time they had seen this problem in implants used at the Mayo Clinic.

Zimmer officials have indicated that the component was only 1.2% of the company’s tibial sales and that high-volume users of the component, which has not yet been publicly named by the researchers or Zimmer, have not complained of any similar problems.

As a result of problems with their knee replacement components, the company currently faces about 200 Zimmer NexGen knee lawsuits filed by individuals who have experienced complications after receiving several different types of implants.

All of the lawsuits involve similar allegations that plaintiffs experienced problems following knee replacement surgery as a result of design defects with certain Zimmer NexGen components. Plaintiffs claim to have suffered catastrophic implant failures, often resulting in the need for revision surgery to remove or replace the implants because they failed far in advance of their projected lifespan. Zimmer allegedly downplayed and understated the risk of Zimmer NexGen knee problems.

In August, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered that all complaints filed in federal district courts throughout the country involving Zimmer NexGen knee replacements be transferred to Judge Pallmeyer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois as part of an MDL.