“Are women more likely to be harmed by medical device failures?” By: Ben Hallman https://www.icij.org/blog/2018/12/are-women-more-likely-to-be-harmed-by-medical-device-failures/ For the last year, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has been investigating the medical device industry around the world. They found that there are very relaxed regulations in the implant industry, which allows dangerous products, like metal on metal […]

Article link: https://www.icij.org/investigations/implant-files/hidden-dangers-patients-doctors-not-informed-of-defective-implants/ Article title: Hidden Dangers: patients, doctors not informed of defective implants By Spencer Woodman This article begins with the story of Vijay Vojhala, an Indian man who received a Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal hip in 2008. Vojhala’s implant was the DePuy Orthopaedics ASR hip system. In 2011, Vojhala went to a medical product […]

Article Link: https://www.icij.org/investigations/implant-files/how-lobbying-blocked-european-safety-checks-for-dangerous-medical-implants/ Article Title: How lobbying blocked European safety checks for dangerous medical implants By Simon Bowers In recent years, there have been two major attempts to increase safety regulations for medical implants in the European Union. However, lobbyists have shot down both of these reform attempts by misleading policymakers about their products. Public […]

Article Link: https://www.icij.org/investigations/implant-files/patient-hopes-rise-and-fall-as-an-industry-balances-progress-and-profit/ Article Title: Patient Hopes Rise and Fall as An Industry Balances Progress and Profit By Dean Starkman and Delphine Reuter The article starts with a description of a 2008 sales meeting for DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The sales gathering was more of a party than a meeting: […]

Article link: https://www.icij.org/investigations/implant-files/medical-devices-harm-patients-worldwide-as-governments-fail-on-safety/ Article Title: Medical Devices Harm Patients Worldwide as Governments Fail on Safety By ICIJ This article is the result of an extensive study involving over 250 journalists across 36 countries. The investigation found that, in recent decades, medical implants have caused patients a great deal of harm because governments have approved them […]

Article Link: https://www.icij.org/investigations/implant-files/patients-fight-for-answers-as-broken-implants-cause-unseen-agony/ Article title: Patients Fight For Answers as Broken Implants Cause Unseen Agony. By: Spencer Woodman This article highlights the heartbreaking stories of patients around the world who received faulty medical device implants. In doing so, they interviewed Jeong Sang-Ho, a 47-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, who is currently embroiled in a years-long […]

Title: Explant Analysis of the Biomet Magnum/ReCap metal-on-metal hip joint Abstract Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip resurfacing implants and MoM total hip arthroplasty (THA) implants have recently been questioned by the medical community because of their high revision rates. Understanding the reasons for failure can provide insight into how implants can be improved. Furthermore, looking at the […]

Title: Modular to Monoblock: Difficulties of Detaching the M2a-Magnum Head Are Common in Metal on Metal Revisions Where Are We Now? Metal-on-Metal total hip arthroplasty (MoM THA) implants consist of many metal parts that rub together over the course of normal use. The medical community used to think that corrosion — which is essentially rusting […]

Title: Modular to Monoblock: Difficulties of Detaching the M2a-Magnum Head Are Common in Metal-on-metal Revisions Abstract Metal-on-Metal total hip arthroplasty (MoM THA) implants are made up of a variety of components. One common component is the modular head; it is supposed to be easy to remove during revision surgery. However, it can actually be incredibly […]

Title: Higher Blood Cobalt and Chromium Levels in Patients with unilateral metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasties compared to hip resurfacing Abstract High cobalt and chromium levels in the blood are known to cause negative side-effects in patients with metal on metal hip replacements. This study discusses the risk factors and the overall likelihood that that people with […]

Title: A 5-year survival analysis of 160 Biomet Magnum M2a metal-on-metal total hip prostheses Abstract Large-head metal-on-metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasties (THA), or hip implants, have high failure rates. This study looks at the conditions of 160 hip devices 5 years after implantation in order to determine their failure rate; all 160 devices were Biomet […]

Title: Clinical and Wear Analyses of 9 Large Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Prostheses Abstract All patients in this study had the Biomet Magnum (M2a-Magnum™) hip implant with a Recap cup and Taperloc (Taperloc1 Hip Stem) or Mallory stem. This study attempts to figure out the underlying reasons for implant failure by looking at the wear analyses […]

Title: The Effect of Different Bearing Surfaces on Metal Ion Levels in Urine Following 28mm Metal-on-Metal and 28mm Metal-on-Polyethylene Total Hip Arthroplasty Abstract Total hip arthroplasty (THA), or hip replacement surgery, is known to increase levels of metal ions in the body. This is because the implant devices can shed metal particles into the body. […]

Title: “Neuropsychiatric symptoms following metal-on-metal implant failure with cobalt and chromium toxicity” Abstract Many metal-on-metal (MoM) total hip replacement implants have been recalled due to high failure rates. This study assesses the mental health of 10 patients who underwent revision surgery for failed MoM implants. The authors believe this is the first study to find […]

Research Title: Pseudotumor in Large-Diameter Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Articulation Abstract This case study focuses on a patient who experienced pain in her hip following a large-diameter metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacement. She also developed a pseudotumor, which is an abnormal swelling of tissue that resembles a tumor. Intro MoM hip implants are thought to be more […]

Title: Cobalt-Chromium Metallosis With Normal Electroretinogram Background: The popularity of Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip implants, which are typically made out of cobalt and chromium, has made cobalt poisoning of the eye more common. This condition is called ocular cobalt toxicity. This study focuses on a 66-year-old-man whose vision was damaged because he got cobalt poisoning from […]

Title: Unusual Case of Congestive Heart Failure:  Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Histopathologic Findings in Cobalt Cardiomyopathy Summary A 69-year-old woman came to the authors with symptoms of congestive heart failure, a heart condition that leads to buildups of fluid in the lungs. She had a history of hypertension, mild kidney problems, and hip replacements […]

Title: Hip ­Implant Related Chorio-­Retinal Cobalt Toxicity Abstract A 39-year-old female with high levels of cobalt in her blood (a side-effect of her two hip implants) came to the doctors with complaints that her left eye had been blurry for three weeks. Eye imaging revealed that the light-sensitive portion of the patient’s retina (called the […]

Research Title: Progressive Cardiomyopathy in a Patient with Elevated Cobalt Ion Levels and Bilateral Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasties Abstract: Cobalt poisoning also called cobalt toxicity or cobalt disease, is a rare but serious possible side effect of Metal-on-Metal (MoM) total hip replacements. This study focuses on one patient who received MoM hip replacements on both hips […]

Research Title: Adverse Reaction to Metal Debris after ReCap-M2A-Magnum Large-Diameter Head Metal on Metal Total Hip Arthroplasty Background and Purpose: Adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD) is a type of implant failure that can occur after metal-on-metal hip replacements. The symptoms of ARMD failure may include fluid collections around the hip, a build-up of soft […]

Research Title: Adverse Local Tissue Reaction After a Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Prosthesis Without Elevated Serum Metal Ion Levels Background Recent studies show a correlation between high cobalt and chromium levels and failed metal on metal hip (MoM)  implants. Typically a MoM hip patient with cobalt blood levels above 7 parts per billion (ppb) requires follow-up […]

Mokka, J., Junnila, M., Seppanen, M., Virolainen, P., Polonen, T., Vahlberg, T., Mattila, K., Tuominen, E.K.J., Rantakokko, J., Aarimaa, V., Kukkonen, J., Makela, K.T., Acta Orthopaedica 2013; 84(6): 549-554. ABSTRACT: Background and purpose The clinical findings of adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD) following large-diameter-head metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (LDH MoM THA) may include periarticular fluid collections, soft […]

Abstract: Peri-articular soft-tissue masses or ‘pseudotumors’ can occur after large-diameter metal-on-metal (MoM) resurfacing of the hip and conventional total hip replacement (THR). Our aim was to assess the incidence of pseudotumor formation and to identify risk factors for their formation in a prospective cohort study. A total of 119 patients who underwent 120 MoM THRs […]