Hip and knee replacements are among the most common surgical procedures in all of orthopedic surgery. The procedure involves replacing damaged or deteriorated joints with artificial replacements, which include parts made of high molecular weight polyethylene, similar to pliable plastic. Most patients who undergo this procedure gain improved agility, flexibility, and reduced pain; however, due to the practice of sterilizing polyethylene, some replacements have failed prematurely, resulting in injury, and causing the need for further surgery to replace the failed parts.
Several companies used a technique known as gamma irradiation in air to sterilize the devices. The sterilization process caused the polyethylene part of the devices, once implanted in the body, to break into small pieces that lodge into the patient's hip or knee joint. In the body's fight to rid itself of those pieces, the immune system also attacks the patient's healthy bone, causing it to decay, a condition known as osteolysis. The patient inevitably needs another potentially risky surgery to replace the device long before expected.
Lopez, Hodes, Milman & Skikos is currently litigating a number of hip & knee replacement cases throughout the country against companies that use the gamma irradiation process. If you or someone you know has undergone hip or knee replacement, you may be eligible to participate in hip and knee replacement litigation, and you should contact our attorneys as soon as possible to determine if you have a case.
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