Warning Issued, Phasing-out of Hip Implant

De Puy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, has issued a warning to physicians about the high early failure rate of its hip implant device, known as the ASR, just months after announcing plans to curtail sales of the product by year-end. Some physicians say that De Puy did not act quickly enough as hundreds of affected patients have undergone painful and expensive follow-up surgeries to replace the ASR within a few years after the initial procedure. The ASR, a metal-on-metal implant, is one of several under scrutiny because they can generate metal fragments, causing inflammation and damage to muscles and tissue. Some experts believe design flaws in the De Puy implant are at the root of the device’s problems. (3/9) NY Times