As terrifying as it is to imagine, defective medical devices are more common than people believe. Take the company Exactech, for example. Exactech is a global medical device manufacturer that creates thousands of implants and instruments for ankle, knee, and hip replacements. Sadly, a mistake that was made by the company in 2004 will affect thousands of patients’ lives for years to come.
What are some of the defective products that have been recalled by Exactech?
In the past couple of years, Exactech has been forced to recall hundreds of thousands of knee, hip, and ankle replacement systems. The knee replacement systems that had to be recalled alone measured up to 147,000. There were three types of knee replacement systems that were discovered to have a design defect stemming around an insert: the Exactech Optetrak Knee Replacement, the Exactech Truliant Knee Replacement, and the Exactech Optetrak Logic Knee Implant. In regards to defective hip replacement systems, the Exactech Connexion GXL acetabular liner located in hip replacements was recalled last year.
Why did these knee and hip replacements become defective?
Regardless of whether the defective Exactech product is a knee replacement device or a hip replacement device, there was one noticeable flaw in both devices. The design defect created in an insert caused the replacement device to experience premature wear and tear, leading to early device failure. As a result, patients have experienced signs of extreme pain in the affected joint areas.
How did the defect in the insert influence the replacement device to break down?
Many of the replacement devices were constructed in 2004, and have not been updated. In addition to allowing outdated replacement devices to remain inside of patients, there was a dangerous defect discovered with the inserts. A defect found in the packaging of the insert caused a polyethylene component to deteriorate. This polyethylene defect is responsible for the breakdown of the replacement device’s effectiveness.
Signs of a defective Exactech device
The defect created by the insert can cause many patients to experience excessive amounts of pain. Some patients can tell that the replacement device inside of them is defective based on the amount of pain that they are experiencing, while other patients with the recalled Exactech devices may not experience any symptoms at all. One of the signs of a defective Exactech replacement device is a change in mobility. The increased pain and swelling that patients experience affects their ability to move around without an issue.
Increase in excessive pain around joint area
Some of the signs that a patient is suffering from a defective medical device are joint pain, stiffness in the area, a reduced range of motion, issues walking, and weakness of the joint.
Corrective surgery
Depending on how painful the symptoms are for the patient, healthcare providers may recommend that patients pursue corrective surgery. Healthcare providers may reach this conclusion after performing an X-ray evaluation and examining the replacement device. With any surgery, corrective surgery comes with a set of risks. Any patient that has experienced the symptoms of a defective medical device is entitled to hold Exactech liable for any pain they have experienced from the device.
Contact Kwartler Manus, LLC Today
No one should have to live with the pain from a defective medical device for the rest of their lives. Let us help you hold your medical professionals accountable. Our Philadelphia attorneys will review your case, build an aggressive strategy, and fight for your patient’s rights. We aim to do our part in helping you recover, and will work to obtain the compensation you deserve. Call our Philadelphia cosmetic injury lawyers at (267) 457-5570, or fill out our contact form to discuss your case.