In severe from STRYKER ABGll THR Anyone else facing REVISION?

Hello,

My life has been going in circles since my hip implant was recalled. It has metal on metal in the design. My first implant done in 2000 is not MOM and is still going strong 14 years later. It has been known since the 1970's that MOM designs cause serious health risks.

In 2011 the surgeon knew the risks of MOM in hip joint prothesis designs and told me it was not MOM and never disclosed there were MOM stems used in the design. He eventually had to tell me after a Major recall by STRYKER the manufacturer. The surgeon put my life at risk in so many different ways it should be considered criminal.

In the next few paragraphs I explain exactly what this has done not only to my life but thousands involved in class action law suits against the manufacturer STRYKER.....The surgeons should be held responsible too, they knowingly used the STRYKER MOM product and put thousands at risk and worse some have died.

I have been researching the effects of the STRYKER MOM device since the manufacturer recall in June of 2012. It was implanted by my surgeon in July of 2011. Although ABG II is not a true metal-on-metal hip implant as in the  older designs, they contain a metal neck juncture as well as metal trunnions. 

During the Stryker hip replacement recall the company noted a particular risk of fretting, corrosion and early failure among the devices. This corrosion causes microscopic metal ions to shear away from the device, lodging in the hip tissue or entering into the bloodstream. Chromium and cobalt toxicity can occur when the levels of these dangerous metals build up and when the shards burrow into tissue, inflammation, pain, bone loss and degradation of tissue can occur. As a result I have regular heavy metal blood tests and nuclear CAT scans. Always living with the obvious fear. Waiting...

Metal poisoning can cause a wide variety of medical problems, many of them extremely serious or even life-threatening. Gastrointestinal, neurological, cardiovascular, thyroid and renal disorders can occur, loss of memory, loss of vision or hearing, skin disorders, anxiety, depression, irritability and even DNA disruption can all occur following implantation of an implant which incorporates metal in the design. Within 11 months I watched and suffered as my hip slowly failed painfully. Disrupted my life and everyone in my family. I have no life. The pain and suffering and aging faster in that short period of time than ever before.

These MOM issues has lead to revision surgey and a potentially risky and complex operation which is significantly longer in recovery time than my original hip implant surgery. 

Research has shown that in addition to metal sensitivity as a factor in pseudotumors, women appear to have a higher risk of developing pseudotumors due to the smaller hip implant components used which have been associated with increased wear. These smaller hip device components are also less forgiving of being misaligned. When pseudotumors are present they must be removed and it is likely the hip implant will need to be removed and replaced with a non-metal implant. All recipients of hip implant devices should undergo tests to determine the presence of pseudotumors as well as the presence of metal poisoning. Not just the Stryker MOM design but all are metal into bone there is always a risk of metal sensitivity. Something we are never told. 

Research suggests that pseudotumors are as much as ten times more common in those patients with metal-on-metal hip devices, including The ABG II which are constructed with metal parts. One study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint surgery noted a “substantially higher” rate of soft-tissue mass development (pseudotumors) in recipients of metal hip implants than previously identified. In one particular study, 3.6 years following surgery showed 42 out of 108 patients in the study had pseudotumors—nearly 39%.

This is the scariest thing I have ever had to face in my 65 years of life. I pray for all my fellow STRYKER ABGll hip implant victums that every revision surgery has no further complications. Each patient suffers no more. As well as their families and may return to a painless normal life. AMEN

Peace, luv & Laughter

HOPE

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