Personal Injury Law

Joint Replacement -- Shared Information Is Key to Preventing Future Mistakes

By Melissa Kelly

A recent New York Times article outlines not only the growing popularity of total joint replacements -- no wonder given America's aging yet active population -- but also the risk involved in receiving these replacement joints. According to the article, a 2007 study revealed that 7 percent of hips implanted in Medicare patients had to be replaced within seven and one-half years. As the article notes, seven percent may not seem like a high number, but, given the number of joint replacement surgeries performed each year in the United States -- 806,000 hips and knees were replaced in 2007 alone -- that seemingly small percentage equates to thousands of people forced to undergo the painful process of a second surgery to replace the implant -- commonly referred to as revision -- accompanied by another round of grueling rehabilitation and recovery.

The article provides several useful tips for people considering a total joint replacement, such as choosing an experienced surgeon and having realistic expectations for the outcome. Just as important, however, is the article's discussion of the American Joint Replacement Registry ("AJRR"), a new effort to gather data regarding the failure of total joint replacements from American hospitals. The AJRR is modeled after similar registries in other countries. According to the AJRR fact sheet, other countries that maintain similar registries have seen a 10% reduction in revision rates.

According to its web site, the goals of the AJRR are to:

1. Establish an infrastructure and a uniform system for collecting device information and monitoring outcomes of total joint replacement throughout the United States;

2. Identify patients who may need follow-up evaluation, thereby increasing patient safety;

3. Create a real-time survivorship curve in order to detect poorly performing implants; and

4. Establish a uniform system that can be used to define the epidemiology of total joint replacement for outcome research to improve the quality and outcomes of patient care.

The focus of the AJRR appears to be on the implants themselves, rather than on potential medical malpractice by the surgeons performing the implantation surgeries. (Not surprising, given that the board and most of the implementing members are themselves surgeons.) These goals are, of course, important, particularly in light of the extensive and painful recovery and rehabilitation a patient must undergo when a failed replacement joint is replaced. The importance of these goals is made even more apparent when one considers the very substantial obstacles in the way of those who seek recovery for failed and/or improperly implanted joint replacements. Between draconian damages caps and preemption's wide-sweeping elimination of state law claims, an individual injured by a faulty joint replacement faces an incredibly steep uphill climb to recovering damages for those injuries. Perhaps the AJRR's mission will eventually reduce the number of failed joint replacements in this country, and thereby spare some of those potential plaintiffs the fight for recovery.

Were you or someone you know injured by a faulty joint replacement or other medical device? The attorneys at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP have the experience and knowledge to fight for your right to recover for injuries caused by these devices. Please contact us today.

Full post as published by Cleveland Personal Injury Lawyer on July 07, 2010 (boomark / email).