After more than two years of problem reports, DePuy Orthopaedics finally decided to withdraw its ASR hip implants from the market, because the ASR hip implant was failing in traditional hip replacements only a few years after implant, requiring costly and painful replacement operations.

In a March 6 letter to doctors, DePuy admitted that the “metal-on-metal” ASR hip implant has a high failure rate and should not be used in traditional hip replacements.  A DePuy statement to the press admitted that “this is new and important information surgeons who continue to use ASR should have to inform their clinical decision making.”

The ASR model is often used in “hip resurfacing,” which is an alternative to traditional hip replacement. However, this method is not approved for use in the United States. The FDA has only approved the ASR for use in traditional hip replacement.

The FDA has received about 300 complaints about the ASR since 2008. Most of the patients lodging complaints had undergone an operation to replace the implant.  It was only after Johnson & Johnson saw slowing sales of the hip implant that they made the announcement that the device is unsafe.

Some surgeons have long said they believe the ASR design is defective and is prone to problems.  Orthopedic experts had recently been very critical of the hip implant, saying DePuy should have stopped selling the device much sooner.

DePuy withdrew the ASR from the Australian market in December, but kept it on the American market until the March 6 announcement.

The law firm of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz (AWKO Law) has been actively engaged in defective medical device litigation for years.  For more information about patients’ legal rights, DePuy ASR patients and their families can contact the lawyers of AWKO Law at www.awkolaw.com (888-255-2956).