Cormet Hip Resurfacing System Risks

Washington, DC: Stryker Orthopaedics, the company that distributes the Corin Group's Cormet Hip Resurfacing System in the US, said in July that it will no longer be distributing the product as "distribution of a hip resurfacing device no longer fits within Stryker's long-term product strategy."

The Cormet Hip Resurfacing System was approved by the FDA in 2007. The system uses metal on metal, a strategy that has proven problematic for patients since coming to market. The system caps the femoral head with a metal head, which is then fitted into a metal cup placed within the hip socket.

While the Cormet Hip Resurfacing System is designed to mimic the functions of the biologic hip, and works in the same way, friction caused by the two metal surfaces rubbing against each other poses risk for cobalt poisoning, metallosis, and flaking. If metal debris is generated from the rubbing of the false joint, it puts the entire hip replacement at risk and can cause loosening, dislocation and risk for fracture.

Hip resurfacing was introduced in the late 1990s as an alternative to the more conventional total hip replacement. It is mainly designed for middle-aged patients who are physically active and expected to outlive the l 15-20 year lifespan of a full hip replacement. However, a British study by The Royal College of Surgeons (September 2008) found about 4 percent of the 2,360 women who underwent resurfacing in England had to have a second operation to repair the same hip within three years. Those women who received traditional hip replacements had a re-operation rate of less than 1.6 percent. Hip replacement lawyers predict that hundreds or even thousands of patients are now facing hip revision surgery, or multiple revision surgeries.

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Published on Sep-8-11