Since the recall of the DePuy Articular Surface Replacement (also know as DePuy A.S.R.) in August of this year, there has been a wave of news about the alleged flaws of the product and how the product came to market. A recent New York Times article by Barry Meier explores a loophole that allows implants, such as the DePuy A.S.R., to go to market without being thoroughly tested.
In a nutshell, where drugs have to be tested through a series of clinical trials, implants can be put to market if they simply resemble a product which is already used in the medical community.
The article from the New York Times (click here to read the full article) is an in-depth read on what happened from how the system went to market to present day patients who explain their pain and suffering with the implant.
Selected Quotes from the article:
โYou are basically testing these devices in an uncontrolled way on a large number of people.โ- Sidney M. Wolf, director of the Public Citizenโs Health Research Group
โI have been told that I have to be prepared that it will be like this for the rest of my life.โ – Mary Ann Doornbos, a DePuy ASR patient who cannot stand up long enough to cook a meal.
โThey basically said that the problem was meโ- Dr. Antoni Nargol, after speaking with DePuy about a concern he had with their hip replacement system.
โIt really brought it home. The destruction this situation has caused.โ – Dr. Antoni Nargol, speaking on how he felt after telling a DePuy ASR patient that there was little that could be done to ease her painful condition.
Past Hardison & Cochran Blog Post on the topic of DePuy ASR:
- MDL No. 2197
- NBC News on the DePuy Hip Replacement (Video)
- ABC News investigates the DePuy Hip Replacement System (Video)
- DePuy Hip Replacement Past Article
- Heavy Metal Toxicity and DePuy ASR
- Lawsuits Filed after DePuy ASR Recall
Photo courtesey of Simon Davison by way of Flickr Creative Commons.
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