Zimmer Knee Failure Rates Increasing

In 2008, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., a medical device maker who is considered a leader in the field of hip and knee replacements, issued a public Zimmer knee recall on its NEXGEN MIS Total Knee System. MIS means minimally invasive surgery. The Zimmer recall occurred after the device appeared to potentially have broken during surgeries leaving fragments of metal in patients’ knees. Later, Zimmer clarified the recall by citing that the minimally invasive surgery instrument was what was recalled not the knee implant itself.
More recently, a study was published that suggested that this particular NexGen implant itself was failing at a high rate. The publication was titled, “The High Failure Rate of a High-Flex Total Knee Arthroplasty Design”. Since it was brought to market, more than 150,000 of these implants have been sold, and new data suggests that while they were originally projected to last around 15 years, a large percentage have failed in three years or less. Zimmer knee failure rates are increasing in high numbers.
This past March, the results of a study were presented at an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons conference that indicated that 36 percent of NexGen patients examined after two years showed signs of the replacement loosening. Indeed, the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry reported 120 revision procedures on Zimmer recipients since 2004. In the face of these data, Zimmer Holdings claims surgeons negligently implanted the devices or chose the used the wrong devices for their patients. This has raised a problem in that a recall was never officially requested outside of the company, leading many to take legal action without knowing where the blame lies. Victims of Zimmer knee failure should contact an experienced Zimmer knee lawyer as soon as possible to ensure proper representation in filing a lawsuit.