Wright Profemur Hip Failures

Wright Profemur Hip Failures. Wright Medical Group is a medical device company that makes many orthopedic and biologic products. In 2013, Wright sold its hip and knee implant business to MicroPort Medical. Several models from their Profemur, Conserve, Dynasty, and Lineage lines of hip implants were alleged to have caused serious harm, by causing premature hip failure and the need for painful revision.

Problems with Wright Profemur Hip Failures

The human hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint. Metal hip replacement implants, are made with a ball-head connected via the stem to the femur or the thigh bone that fits into the socket of an acetabular cup or the pelvis.

Wright guaranteed the “structural reliability” and “absence of fretting corrosion” at the junction of the stem and neck. Wright marketed the Profemur to people with an “active lifestyle,” saying the product was for patients who wanted to return to activities like golf, tennis, karate, and wrestling after their hip implant.

The neck of the implant connects the ball to the stem of the implant and it is the neck and ball that degrade the fastest, leading to problems with premature Profemur hip failure. Patients with Wright Profemur hip implants have reported the following problems:

Fracture of the implant neck
Metal Corrosion and Fractures
Metallosis (metal toxicity)
Pain and discomfort
Hip instability/joint loosening
Premature hip implant device failure

When these serious problems occur of Profemur hip failures, they can cause intense pain, and patients require emergency revision surgery to correct the problem and prevent any further damage.

Wright Redesigns the Profemur implant

In 2009, Wright Medical redesigned Profemur implants with a more resilient neck made from cobalt-chromium. But, they neglected to warn the earlier patients of the risks related to the original design.

Profemur artificial hips were considered cutting edge because of a feature known as “dual modular necks.” Hundreds of thousands of Americans undergo hip implant surgery each year and devices are expected to last at least 20 years, according to the American College of Rheumatology. The Profemur necks, are available in many lengths and angles, made it easier to customize the hip implants for patients. But the Profemur line of hip implants had a dark secret.

Profemur Hip failure rate unacceptable

In a 2015 study published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, the authors called the failure rates for the Profemur Z and Profemur E devices “unacceptably high.” A 2009 report by the Australian Orthopaedic Association showed that the Wright Profemur Z femoral stem had a high failure rate, requiring approximately 11.2 percent of all patients receiving the implant to need revision surgery.

Microport Recalls Profemur Devices

In 2015, MicroPort, recalled nearly 11,000 Profemur devices. In the recall, they warned that fracture would require emergency surgery. The FDA named it a Class I recall.

Over the past two decades, more than 750 Profemur hips have fractured at the neck. In interviews, patients said they were left unable to walk and in need of emergency surgery. Reports submitted to the FDA describe Profemur patients stranded in the midst of routine life, while hiking, golfing, bowling, mowing the lawn, and so on.

After each break, patients endure an hours-long repair surgery that can be traumatic because the broken implant is embedded in their bone and difficult to remove. The repair surgery, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars and may not be fully reimbursed by insurance, often requires a patient’s femur to be cracked open to extract a metal stem that was inserted down its length.

According to an FDA database, the Profemur titanium modular necks have been breaking since at least 2005. Ten models of the titanium neck were recalled in 2020 after being scrutinized in more than 650 reports of fractures reported to the FDA. Six other models of titanium necks, noted in about 75 additional fracture reports, have not been permanently recalled.

Wright Profemur Hip Failures Replacement Lawsuits and Settlements

The lawsuits claim that Profemur artificial hips broke or corroded at the neck in about 7½ years, on average. Profemur necks made from titanium broke on average in about 10 years while necks made from the cobalt-chromium alloy broke or corroded in just six years.

2015: a federal jury in Atlanta, GA awarded $11 million to a former ski instructor whose Conserve hip implant failed after just six years, causing metallosis, tissue necrosis, and metal debris damage that led to soft tissue removal.

2016: Wright paid $240 million to settle more than 1,200 lawsuits in a multi-district litigation (MDL) alleging that Profemur, Conserve, Dynasty, and Lineage hip implants caused metallosis and other injuries.

2017: Wright settled the remainder of the MDL lawsuits (roughly 600 more) with a payment of $89.75 million.

Injured by Wright Profemur Hip Failures? Contact Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm

If you or a loved one had a Wright Conserve or Profemur Metal on Metal Hip Implant and have suffered injuries or needed premature revision surgery with the device, contact the attorneys at Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm to learn more about your legal rights. You can speak with one of our representatives by calling 214-390-3189, or by filling out the case evaluation form on this page.

Our law firm’s principal office is in Dallas and we have offices in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm represents clients in dangerous drug and dangerous medical device lawsuits nationwide.