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Fears of faulty 'toxic' hip replacement implant

NHS Choices Behind the Headlines, 2012

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Faulty 'toxic' DePuy ASR hip implants have been recalled
Today many newspapers and TV stations have reported that medical regulators have launched an investigation into a type of hip replacement called a “metal-on-metal” (MoM) device (DePuy ASR hip replacement implant).
The concern is that as the hip replacements wear down, metal particles can be released from the artificial hip, react with the soft tissue (such as muscle and ligaments) surrounding the joint and enter the bloodstream.
In 2010, the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a product recall for DePuy ASR, a brand of MoM artificial hip.
This meant that surgeons were told not to implant DePuy ASR hip replacements and return any unused implants to the manufacturer.
The MHRA has urged surgeons to tell all patients that had received these DePuy ASR hip replacements about the recall, and to schedule them for annual follow-up visits.
If the person who had a DePuy ASR hip replacement implant experiences pain, the surgeons should consider measuring the level of metals in their blood measured and should examine the soft tissue to see if reactions have occurred.
The Sunday Telegraph has brought this story to the public attention again because of what it says are subsequent developments.
The Telegraph claims that the risk from the devices is greater than previously thought, with greater failure rates.
The Telegraph says that the MHRA is drawing up a new alert for anyone with any type of metal-on-metal hip replacement.