Paramedic Suffers from Zimmer Defective Hip Replacements

Savannah, GAJessie Lee, a paramedic who previously worked as a contract employee in Afghanistan, recently told NBC affiliate WSAV her story about how Zimmer defective hip replacements caused her to suffer immensely.

According to the news source, Lee, who had suffered from hip pain throughout much of her life, attempted to correct the problem once and for all a number of years ago when she decided to undergo hip replacement surgery.

"My doctor told me it was what I needed, the Zimmer Durom cup—was what I needed to continue being a paramedic because he said it would be almost impossible for it to dislocate and I would be able to do everything I was doing before," Lee told the news provider.

Unfortunately, after a few months, it became clear that the surgery had not been successful, as she began experiencing severe pain once again, the news source said. Finally, her doctor decided that since the metal cup had simply fallen out, the implant needed to be taken out completely.

The suffering Lee endured due to the faulty hip replacement device came before Zimmer decided to suspend sales of the Durom cup implant, which comes as little consolation to those who have already witnessed the failure of the devices firsthand.

As a result of the failed surgical procedure, Lee told the news source that she has difficulty walking or even standing for an extended period of time, which has forced her to leave her position as a paramedic.

"That's a real loss," she explained to the news provider.

Cases such as these have occurred across the country, which has ultimately led the US Food and Drug Administration to take rare action and request information about the potential risks of such metal-on-metal implants after they have already been placed on the market.

Bloomberg reports that the FDA has asked manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Holdings and others to study the potential risks of increases in blood-metal levels due to the implants.

According to The New York Times, the studies were requested due to the specific products themselves, rather than one single manufacturer of the metal-on-metal hips implants.

In total, the FDA reportedly contacted 20 manufacturers asking for further studies to be conducted into the matter.