Stryker Trident Hip Implant

 

 

 

Background

New Jersey manufacturer Howmedica Osteonics Corporation developed, manufactured, marketed and sold the hip implant sold under the name Stryker Trident® Ceramic Acetabular System since September of 1999, distributing the same within the European Union countries, Australia and Canada. The Trident System contains a ceramic-on-ceramic acetabular bearing couple, indicated for patients requiring primary total hip arthroplasty or replacement due to painful disabling joint disease of the hip resulting from non-inflammatory degenerative arthritis. However, many reports of squeaking, screeching, popping, grinding and other noises have come out reaching a level of concern that has prompted researchers in both the United States and Europe to take action.

The firm of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC represents victims of defects associated with the Stryker Trident® Ceramic Acetabular System. If you or a loved one is experiencing sounds from the device and/or pain in the area of the implant, please call us for a free consultation and case evaluation toll free at: 877-810-4808 or email: stryker-info@awkolaw.com.

"Medical technology company Stryker Corp. said Tuesday it will voluntarily recall certain hip surgery products a week after it received a warning from regulators. The company is recalling Trident PSL and Hemispherical Acetabular Cups that were made in its Cork, Ireland plant." --Associated Press

More information is available in the PDFs below.

Stryker Trident Hip Implant Component Recall Latest Bad News for Company Since FDA Warning Letter (January 22, 2008) [pdf]

FDA Warning Letter Issued March 15, 2007 [pdf]

FDA Warning Letter Issued November 28, 2008 [pdf]

Stryker to Recall Hip Surgery Products (January 22, 2008) [pdf]

The American Investigation

On November 3, 2006, at the 16th annual The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) fall meeting, several surgeons presented their findings emanating from recent research they performed into the squeaking phenomenon. The results of these studies indicate that there was no correlation between cup position and squeaking, nor between anteversion and squeaking, thereby ruling-out physician error. Rather, they believe that impingement is a potential cause of the undesirable complication.

The European Investigation

On December 1, 2006, Italian surgeons from Bologna (seat of the first European University since 12th Century) performed a study for the purpose of establishing guidelines for early recognition of clinical signs of ceramic liner fractures based on a twelve-year experience with modern ceramic prostheses. Aldo Toni, et al.: Early diagnosis of ceramic liner fracture. Guidelines based on a twelve-year clinical experience. J Bone Joint Surg -Am 2006; 88-A. Supplement 4: 55 – 63. The study revealed that squeaks from ceramic total hips were likely to be a precursor to hip failure. The study advised that early diagnosis of a ceramic liner fracture is desirable to avoid a wide spread of ceramic particles in the periarticular space. However, it advised further that a complication exists in choosing revision surgery after ceramic-on-ceramic failure where ceramic fragments have spread into the periarticular space given the abrasive character of the surrounding tissue and possibility of leading to early failure of the revision procedure. The Italian study concludes that poor construction of the cup component enhanced the risk of impingement and the liner fractures.

This is the sound of a defective Stryker Hip:

Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC is currently investigating claims of defective Stryker hips , including complaints of Stryker hip squeaking noises . The defective Stryker hips have been referred to by many victims as Squeaky Hips . If you are a loved one has had defective hip replacement problems, please call 1-888-255-AWKO today or contact us online.