The Back Room Music

DePuy Orthapaedics made a huge profit off their hip replacement systems in the years prior to the device’s recall. Now the only people profiting off the device are hip recall lawyers, who are representing consumers who were implanted with faulty devices. Consumers of this device have consistently paid a high price for it €“ whether for monetary and physical costs incurred by the surgery, the damage done to their joints by a faulty device, the expense of a repeat surgery, or the cost of pursuing a legal case. Something is wrong with a system that allows corporations to make a profit at the continued physical and economic expense of ordinary citizens. Hip replacement candidates are primarily elderly individuals who have experienced degeneration of the hip joint. Choosing to have a hip replacement surgery involves weighing the costs and benefits. Benefits include a likelihood of a cessation of pain and a return to full mobility. Costs include an invasive surgery, a long recovery €“ and unbeknownst to patients until recently, the risk of being implanted with a faulty device. DePuy Orthapaedics, once the maker of the most used hip-replacement devices in the world, issued a massive product recall during 2010. The DePuy hip recall was for two different devices that are implanted in the hip socket and have been found to produce metal debris in the joint that results in tissue damage, serious pain and the need for a second surgery. Despite strong evidence dating back several years pointing to these flaws, consumers have only recently been warned about this risk of hip replacement surgery.