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Today’s topic is related to metal poisoning, otherwise known as metallois, associated with
the DePuy ASR hip replacement device. I’m Scott Harford. I’m a trial attorney with
the law firm Lynch Daskal Emery here in New York City. I want to talk to you today about
a hip replacement device called the ASR hip replacement. It’s manufactured by a company
called DePuy Orthopedics, which is a division of Johnson & Johnson. Now, this is an x-ray
so I can show you some of the anatomy and how the hip device works. If you look right
here at the two hips, there’s a femoral head and a femoral stem. The ASR hip device
places, essentially, a ball and a cup at the femoral head with a stem that connects. The
ball and the head actually rub together with each other, causing some wear and corrosion.
The wear and corrosion thereby causes some metal ions made of cobalt and chromium into
the bloodstream. The bloodstream actually carries these metal ions – which, by the
way, cannot even be viewed under a microscope – to the tissue, the tendons in the tissue,
the muscles in the tissue. Studies have shown that the metal ions - when they actually travel
to these tendons, muscles, and tissues in the thigh – cause inflammation throughout
the whole thigh that can actually cause the tissue in the thigh to die. An article in
the New York Times in December 2010 even pointed out the fact that surgeons, when they’re
removing this device, spoke about how patients explained about inexplicable pain and that
the surgeons actually saw large, mysterious masses of dead tissue right around the thigh
area. The studies done in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control have also
concluded that these metal ions are cancerous and can cause permanent injury to the brain,
kidneys, and heart. If you have had an ASR hip device installed or removed, we’re here
to help. We represent individuals who have been harmed by defective devices every day.
Call us, 1-800-585-1190. I’m Scott Harford and thanks for joining me.