Just found out hip replacement 2007 is poisoning me (2 Viewers)

[JohnnyU]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

 

[mr. furley]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

find you a good lawyer

 

[JohnnyU]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

find you a good lawyer

At the time it was the best procedure. Before that it was metal on metal My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

 

[Mister CIA]

Wishing you the best and hope you get it fixed and your're back to 100% as soon as possible.

 

[Ilov80s]

Keep fighting, I did't know about the skin cancer either. Is that all under control now?

 

[JohnnyU]

Keep fighting, I did't know about the skin cancer either. Is that all under control now?

They keep cutting it out of me, so I hope so.

 

[Galileo]

Wow...crappy news. Sorry to hear, but at least they discovered it and can possibly do something about it. After replacing the old hip with new materials, will they give you some sort of blood transfusion or just let the body refresh its own blood supply over time?

 

[rockaction]

Oh boy, JohnnyU.

Keep it up, bud. Just keep fighting.

 

[JohnnyU]

Wow...crappy news. Sorry to hear, but at least they discovered it and can possibly do something about it. After replacing the old hip with new materials, will they give you some sort of blood transfusion or just let the body refresh its own blood supply over time?

To be honest I don't know what follows. Maybe I get lucky and only need to replace the old joint with medicine.

 

[JohnnyU]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

 

[Ilov80s]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

 

[JohnnyU]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

I just want to get better and that will mean another hip replacement with plastic joints instead of metal.

 

[Ilov80s]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

Maybe I should talk to a lawyer, but I just want to get better and that will mean another hip replacement with plastic joints instead of metal.

I think I would be like you, just concerned about getting healthy/fixed.

 

[Terminalxylem]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

Are you talking about suing the prosthetic joint manufacturer? I think there have been some class action suits filled against one company (Depuy), but I don’t know the outcome.

 

[JohnnyU]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

Are you talking about suing the prosthetic joint manufacturer? I think there have been some class action suits filled against one company (Depuy), but I don’t know the outcome.

All I know is that I'm sick and have to do something to repair it. I'm not sure who is at fault, only that the implant given has made me sick. I hope that a reversal of the implant that is metal to a plastic one will help. I'm unsure what has to happen after that to remove the metals in my body. I'm scared.

 

[shuke]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

 

[shuke]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

Maybe I should talk to a lawyer, but I just want to get better and that will mean another hip replacement with plastic joints instead of metal.

PM me if you don't want to talk about it here. Who is telling you that you are going to get an all-plastic hip implant? Granted, I've been out of orthopaedics for 5 years but I've never heard of that.

Cobalt and chromium are both commonly used in the ball of the joint, but there is no way the plastic is wearing that metal down. What I'm guessing is that the ball is either hitting the rim of the metal cup that holds the plastic, or you have worn through the plastic completely and the metal ball is rubbing on that metal cup and creating debris. This latter is probably not out of the question if you've had this for 16 years. Have you been getting regular X-rays? Do you have an X-ray to share?

 

[JohnnyU]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I have an MRI on the 27th and just had the blood test and the doctor said both my Cobalt-B and Chronium-B are too high and probably need to replace the current joint. The standard at the time of my surgery was a metal ball with plastic. The standard before that was Metal on Metal (MOM). The standard now is totally plastic.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

Sorry to hear, but 16 years us a pretty good lifespan for a hip implant. At this point a new one will help you in several ways.

 

[JohnnyU]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

Sorry to hear, but 16 years us a pretty good lifespan for a hip implant. At this point a new one will help you in several ways.

I agree. My worry is the metal in my blood.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

Sorry to hear, but 16 years us a pretty good lifespan for a hip implant. At this point a new one will help you in several ways.

I agree. My worry is the metal in my blood.

Titanium?

 

[shuke]

The standard now is totally plastic.

I'd get more info on this. Are you seeing the same surgeon that put your current one in?

 

[msudaisy26]

I wish you the best of luck and I understand you just want to get better, but there is absolutely no reason to go at this alone. You need to talk to a lawyer and find a doctor you can trust.

 

[Terminalxylem]

The issue is Cobalt-B and Chronium-B in my blood. Both metals caused by the hip replacement.

For sure seems like a lawsuit

Are you talking about suing the prosthetic joint manufacturer? I think there have been some class action suits filled against one company (Depuy), but I don’t know the outcome.

All I know is that I'm sick and have to do something to repair it. I'm not sure who is at fault, only that the implant given has made me sick. I hope that a reversal of the implant that is metal to a plastic one will help. I'm unsure what has to happen after that to remove the metals in my body. I'm scared.

Yeah, that stinks, and you need to focus on getting well. But while somebody may have screwed up, its also possible the outcome was unforeseen, and nobody is to blame. Hopefully you can get it taken care of ASAP.

 

[Terminalxylem]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I think it is only a concern with certain metals (cobalt) used is some flavors of prosthetic joint.

ETA Looks like it’s well described with metal-on-metal prosthesis, as well as revision of ceramic arthroplasties, where a fractured ceramic component is replaced with metal. Metalosis after failure of primary metal-on-plastic is much more rare, occurring in only 2.5% of the largest review of the existing literature, including 79 case reports, Here

Importantly:

In all patients who received treatment for the symptoms, by either removing the prosthesis or by medication, the symptoms reduced considerably

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Metallosis is what we are talking about?
Chromium and cobalt particles floating around in your blood cannot feel good

-I'm sorry JU, as others have said there is no reason to go it alone.
-Are the doctors optimistic you make a full recovery?

What do you have to do in order to speed things along?
How long before they can remove what they put in back in 2007?

-Put you on the prayers list, best vibrations from me to you

 

[3C's]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

Sorry to hear, but 16 years us a pretty good lifespan for a hip implant. At this point a new one will help you in several ways.

16? Well ****! I'm about halfway there...

 

[ILUVBEER99]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

find you a good lawyer

At the time it was the best procedure. Before that it was metal on metal My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

First off I hope you get well and everything works out.

Secondly, the ones calling for a lawsuit are off base. As you said you got the best procedure at the time from a surgery in 2007. There is close to 0.0% chance you'll win a lawsuit. Those are reserved for blatant mistakes and incompetence, not a surgery from 16 years ago.

 

[Corporation]

Praying for you buddy, really sorry you are going through this.

I agree with some of the others, it sounds like the doctors made a best effort at the solution with what they had available at the time. I'd pour your energy into recovery. Keep up the fight, we are pulling for you.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Get better, Johnny.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Morning Johnny,

Sorry to hear about what you’re going through. Hope you get the help you need soon.

Thinking of you and praying for you today.

 

[rockaction]

Yeah, I'm with STEADYMOBBIN22 this morning. Thinking of you and praying for you, JohnnyU.

 

[Da Guru]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I have an MRI on the 27th and just had the blood test and the doctor said both my Cobalt-B and Chronium-B are too high and probably need to replace the current joint. The standard at the time of my surgery was a metal ball with plastic. The standard before that was Metal on Metal (MOM). The standard now is totally plastic.

Wish you well.

Are you sure about totally plastic? Between my 40 man golf league and my hockey league I know at least 10 people who have had hips done, many just recent. I remember them saying they used titanium. Have never heard of the plastic on plastic.

That seems to have some risk in itself. Although I guess all surgery has some risk.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Damn, sorry to hear about all of this, JohnnyU. No wisdom to share except that I hope things work out with the hip replacement.

 

[zamboni]

I'm sorry to hear this, Johnny. I hope you get well soon and agree that you shouldn't have to deal with this on your own.

My wife is getting a hip replacement in a few months, so I am interested in hearing about some of the pitfalls.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

There have been a ton of hip replacement class action lawsuits over the past few decades. I met a lawyer last year who made nearly his entire career from them. You just have to google it, specifically to find firms that handle the cobalt poisoning claims if you want to pursue that route.

Good luck man I hope it works out well for you. I’m getting a new titanium hip installed later this month and am terrified about it but can’t wait any longer.

 

[tri-man 47]

Wow…sorry to hear all that. So searching around, the condition is metallosis, and the replacement will address that, as you anticipate. In terms of the metal in the blood, they can do a heavy metal test. If levels are too high, I see there’s something called chelation therapy that essentially lets you piss out the bad stuff. From a quick look, that sounds like a rather serious therapy …but there is a test for the metal and solutions such as that.

 

[JohnnyU]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I have an MRI on the 27th and just had the blood test and the doctor said both my Cobalt-B and Chronium-B are too high and probably need to replace the current joint. The standard at the time of my surgery was a metal ball with plastic. The standard before that was Metal on Metal (MOM). The standard now is totally plastic.

Wish you well.

Are you sure about totally plastic? Between my 40 man golf league and my hockey league I know at least 10 people who have had hips done, many just recent. I remember them saying they used titanium. Have never heard of the plastic on plastic.

That seems to have some risk in itself. Although I guess all surgery has some risk.

I haven't talked with a surgeon yet. I'm not sure what the newest components are made from. I thought it was all plastic, but I could be mistaken. Perhaps it is part ceramic. You would think I would be more educated on this. I do know they are moving away from using metal.

 

[Joe Bryant]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

Aw Man. I’m sorry GB. Hang in there. Sending your way.

 

[shuke]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I have an MRI on the 27th and just had the blood test and the doctor said both my Cobalt-B and Chronium-B are too high and probably need to replace the current joint. The standard at the time of my surgery was a metal ball with plastic. The standard before that was Metal on Metal (MOM). The standard now is totally plastic.

Wish you well.

Are you sure about totally plastic? Between my 40 man golf league and my hockey league I know at least 10 people who have had hips done, many just recent. I remember them saying they used titanium. Have never heard of the plastic on plastic.

That seems to have some risk in itself. Although I guess all surgery has some risk.

I haven't talked with a surgeon yet. I'm not sure what the newest components are made from. I thought it was all plastic, but I could be mistaken. Perhaps it is part ceramic. You would think I would be more educated on this. I do know they are moving away from using metal.

Stem would still be metal, they'll probably keep your current stem in. Some of the new heads are ceramic. Just trying to help make sure you get accurate info. Let me know if there is anyway I can help. Again very sorry to hear.

 

[3C's]

My procedure was a metal ball with plastic. Who knew this would turn out this way.

I'm very sorry to hear. I am a little confused though. If you have a metal/poly joint, which was the gold standard for years and still used, where is the doctor telling you the metal is coming from?

I have an MRI on the 27th and just had the blood test and the doctor said both my Cobalt-B and Chronium-B are too high and probably need to replace the current joint. The standard at the time of my surgery was a metal ball with plastic. The standard before that was Metal on Metal (MOM). The standard now is totally plastic.

Wish you well.

Are you sure about totally plastic? Between my 40 man golf league and my hockey league I know at least 10 people who have had hips done, many just recent. I remember them saying they used titanium. Have never heard of the plastic on plastic.

That seems to have some risk in itself. Although I guess all surgery has some risk.

I haven't talked with a surgeon yet. I'm not sure what the newest components are made from. I thought it was all plastic, but I could be mistaken. Perhaps it is part ceramic. You would think I would be more educated on this. I do know they are moving away from using metal.

Stem would still be metal, they'll probably keep your current stem in. Some of the new heads are ceramic. Just trying to help make sure you get accurate info. Let me know if there is anyway I can help. Again very sorry to hear.

Good to know that the stem stays cuz I've heard removing those is no fun. About a year after mine was put in I heard/felt a pop and there was a good amount of pain. X-ray showed what might have been a little gap between the bone and stem so I asked about the procedure to remove it if it was needed. Sounds worse than the original procedure.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Damn. That really sucks. My mom just had an mri on her 20+ year old hip implants. They are fine and at this point, she is not a candidate for new ones. She was having pain in her hips, which turned out to be soft tissue related because she was too active. Go mom!

anyway, thops! hopefully they can clean your blood out and you’ll feel like a million bucks. The new hip, while a giant pain to go through, will be fine.

Maybe you’ll start getting super powers like magneto or something?

 

[SWC]

After blood test I just found out that the hip replacement I had in 2007 could have deadly consequences with metal in my blood. I had a blood test that revealed the metal from this procedure is poisoning my body. That explains the overall pain I've had throughout my body. I believe they are going to replace it with the plastic joints. To tell you the truth this is very tiring after two bouts of skin cancer that had to be removed. I'll fight the good fight however. Damn, this is a *****. If it's not one thing it's another.

hey brohan i have two hip replacements and have had a whole host of problems can you please send me a pm with what kind of hip you have thank you

 

[Terminalxylem]

There have been a ton of hip replacement class action lawsuits over the past few decades. I met a lawyer last year who made nearly his entire career from them. You just have to google it, specifically to find firms that handle the cobalt poisoning claims if you want to pursue that route.

Good luck man I hope it works out well for you. I’m getting a new titanium hip installed later this month and am terrified about it but can’t wait any longer.

Do you know the outcome of those suits? I see legal solicitations for people suffering from metallosis, but nothing on settlements/payouts.

 

[shuke]

Do you know the outcome of those suits?

From the innerwebs:

in December 2018, Bloomberg reported that Johnson & Johnson (DePuy's parent company) paid an average settlement amount of $125,000 for 3,300 of 10,000 cases filed in the MDL. In May 2019, Reuters reported the company again agreed to pay $1 billion to settle almost 6,000 cases for the metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuits filed against it where the plaintiffs required surgical extraction. In December 2014, Stryker settled more than 5,000 lawsuits with a $1.425 billion settlement for the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip implants. This amount was amended in July 2015 and amended again in December 2016, allowing the people who qualified for the settlement to increase and to extend the deadline. The plaintiffs who agreed to settle received a base compensation of $300,000.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Lawyer up

 

[Terminalxylem]

Do you know the outcome of those suits?

From the innerwebs:

in December 2018, Bloomberg reported that Johnson & Johnson (DePuy's parent company) paid an average settlement amount of $125,000 for 3,300 of 10,000 cases filed in the MDL. In May 2019, Reuters reported the company again agreed to pay $1 billion to settle almost 6,000 cases for the metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuits filed against it where the plaintiffs required surgical extraction. In December 2014, Stryker settled more than 5,000 lawsuits with a $1.425 billion settlement for the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip implants. This amount was amended in July 2015 and amended again in December 2016, allowing the people who qualified for the settlement to increase and to extend the deadline. The plaintiffs who agreed to settle received a base compensation of $300,000.

I wonder what percentage of those suits were related to metallosis from older, metal-on-plastic joints?

I see the Stryker settlement excludes arthroplasties requiring replacement over 10 years from the initial surgery, and Depuy’s payout to people with retained prostheses, or prosthesis comprised of anything other than metal-on-metal, has yet to be determined.

Not saying it isn’t worth consulting a lawyer, but it appears most of the settled cases are not apples-to-apples comparisons with the OP.

 

[shuke]

I wonder what percentage of those suits were related to metallosis from older, metal-on-plastic joints?

No idea but if I were to guess I'd say not much, if any. Plenty of evidence that the industry didn't do enough due diligence on MOM before introducing it to the market. While metal-on-poly still has some risks, it has success going back to the 60's. Trying to win any kind of lawsuit on something with so much history typically requires showing that the surgeon didn't something negligent.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I wonder what percentage of those suits were related to metallosis from older, metal-on-plastic joints?

No idea but if I were to guess I'd say not much, if any. Plenty of evidence that the industry didn't do enough due diligence on MOM before introducing it to the market. While metal-on-poly still has some risks, it has success going back to the 60's. Trying to win any kind of lawsuit on something with so much history typically requires showing that the surgeon didn't something negligent.

Well, if the case series reflect the general prevalence, it’s a rare complication of non-MOM joints.

And I was thinking a potential lawsuit against the prosthesis manufacturer, not the surgeon.

Either way, I’m surprised recommending he seek legal action was one of the first responses in the thread.

 

[northern exposure]

I wonder what percentage of those suits were related to metallosis from older, metal-on-plastic joints?

No idea but if I were to guess I'd say not much, if any. Plenty of evidence that the industry didn't do enough due diligence on MOM before introducing it to the market. While metal-on-poly still has some risks, it has success going back to the 60's. Trying to win any kind of lawsuit on something with so much history typically requires showing that the surgeon didn't something negligent.

Well, if the case series reflect the general prevalence, it’s a rare complication of non-MOM joints.

And I was thinking a potential lawsuit against the prosthesis manufacturer, not the surgeon.

Either way, I’m surprised recommending he seek legal action was one of the first responses in the thread.

Really? You're surprised somebody suggested legal action? Society is becoming increasingly litigious.
Involved in a car accident = sue, dispute with your neighbor = take him/her to court.
Experiencing a medical/health problem = who can I sue?