Due to the recent DePuy hip replacement recall, many individuals are now carefully monitoring their hip device, and with good reason. It is estimated that in excess of 90,000 implants have been recalled within the past year alone. That being said, it would be more difficult to understand why someone would NOT monitor their hip replacement.

Any mention of a recall typically increases chatter and raises questions throughout the country and across the Internet. The biggest question, of course, being, "Which product or model was it that was recalled?" The second biggest question is why. Once the chatter starts, it is hard to calm; especially when the product is something that is actually inserted into the body surgically, because these are quite often the devices that a person depends upon to work in order to complete the simple activities of daily life.

Those that have had a hip device fail may have experienced not only swelling and pain, but also dislocation or even a hip fracture. This is why the hip replacement recall is such a big deal. The potential that these devices have to make a huge negative impact on the life of the individuals that they are implanted in is much too high to continue to risk, so it has been decided that the best course of action is to pull all remaining devices from hospital shelves so that they can no longer be used.

For those individuals that already have one of these devices in place, it is a matter of waiting to see if something will go wrong. If a patient starts to experience clicking, popping, swelling, severe pain on a regular basis, dislocation, or even hip fracture, then the best course of action is to have corrective surgery performed. Unfortunately, that’s really the only option when the device fails. Most of us are aware of how debilitating a hip replacement surgery can be, not to mention how painful.

Of course, it is for these reasons that patients who have had problems with their recalled hip device are contacting a hip attorney. An attorney that is experienced in medical device failure is always a good tool to have on your side when situations like this arise because they can help you to gather and preserve vital evidence, as well as file action against the manufacturer.