Question
I am a 59 yr old male and in Oct 2006 I broke my right femur at hip joint. (ball end). It was repaired by using a "metal plate" designed specifically for this particular repair.  The "plate" was attached using 5-6 screws.  The problem is all the screws broke and the bone never healed. I am scheduled for another surgery in about a week and a half.  The orthopedic surgeon (a different one than the other year) has not decided yet if he will try to repair this again or if a hip replacement will be necessary.  My question is concerning some information I heard about some faulty screws that have been used in other peoples' ortho surgeries and I am wondering how I can find out the manufacturer and type of ortho plate and screws that were used in my first surgery two years ago. And then where could I look to see if there is information on record that this particular manufacturer's screws have broken in other ortho repairs.  Any information you could share would be greatly appreciated.  My surgery this time is with an ortho surgeon at UPMC in Pittsburgh PA.  Thank You for your time and attention.

Answer
Dear Garland

I truly am sorry for all the pain and suffering you went through.  It must have been very hard on you physically and emotionally.

I would first of all question this surgeon as to what his determining aspects are for actually doing a THR when he goes into your hip.  Also ask him if he does repair the hip as is, what is the timeline (if there is one) for you to possibly need a THR in the future.  IF, and that's a big IF, you will need a THR in a few years, in order to save you the extra surgery, ask about just doing a THR now.

I have not heard of defective screws, but I did hear of defective hip replacements.   This is a link to one of the sites that talks about it.  In the article, they also mention defective "parts", but I don't know what that entails.  But the timeline for your surgery in 2006 fits right into the time this company had the defective parts.  Here is the link:

http://www.youhavealawyer.com/blog/2008/01/23/hip-replacement-recall/

The following link will take you to another company who had problems with replacements, but this was far before your surgery and only seems to have affected total hip replacements and not parts.  Here is the link:

http://www.leighday.co.uk/doc.asp?cat=967&doc=255

I see no reason why you cannot request information from your last surgeon regarding what parts were put in your hip.  I have done that in the past, and had no problem getting the information.  Now it did take time for the surgeon's staff to actually get the information because the second surgery was many years later, prior to computerized records and the staff had to go to the warehouse to actually get the hard file to find the information.

It is not unreasonable for your present doctor to need the information so that he knows how to approach your problem.  Once you get the information, then you can research the parts yourself, and take any steps you need to take to get satisfaction.

I will warn you though, that many surgeons, if called to testify against other surgeons are hesitant to do that.  I had a case where my insurance company denied a necessary revision surgery in another state because they believed my current doctor was qualified to do my surgery.  My doctor refused to touch me and wrote a letter to the insurance company that if they did not approve the surgery, HE would sue them in my behalf.  That is not normally what happens, I just happened to have a compassionate surgeon who wanted the best for me.

I hope the information I gave you helped and please let me know what your research turns up, I'd be curious to know if you were given bad parts.

Sharon