Ceramic Zirconia Femoral Head Fracture in Hip Replacements

If you have suffered a fracture of a Ceramic Zirconia Femoral Head, the results of the fracture are catastrophic. We are aware of several series of failures of Ceramic Zirconia Femoral Heads used in hip replacement systems here in the United States.

Ceramic Hip Recall

The most well known failure of a series of Ceramic Zirconia Femoral Heads resulted in the 2001 recall by a French manufacturer Saint Gobain Ceramiques Avancees Desmarquest (commonly referred to as St. Gobain Desmarquest). In 2001 this manufacturer recalled batches of its Prozyr zirconia ceramic femoral heads. St. Gobain Desmarquest recalled the batches because the femoral heads were fracturing at a higher rate than expected. The femoral head is the ball portion of the hip prosthesis that connects the femoral stem to the pelvis. Since then we have represented patients with failures of several other series of Ceramic Zirconia Femoral Heads.

Signs That Your Zirconia Ceramic Femoral Head Has Fractured

Fracture of zirconia ceramic femoral heads may be signaled by a sudden pain in the implanted hip joint, sometimes preceded by an audible "pop" from the hip just before the onset of pain. If a zirconia ceramic femoral head fractures, you will most likely need immediate surgery to replace it. Once zirconia ceramic femoral heads have been implanted, no tests exist that can predict which patients will experience failure of their hip implants because of defective zirconia ceramic femoral heads.

What To Do If You Think You Have a Bad Ceramic Hip Implant

If you believe that your hip prosthesis failed because of a defective zirconia ceramic femoral head, the lawyers of the Maglio Christopher & Toale, PA Law Firm will be glad to review your medical records to determine if we can represent you in a case against the manufacturer. Fill our our online case evaluation form on the right side of this page.

What We Need to Review Your Ceramic Hip Implant Case

• The orthopedic surgeon's office chart.
• The operative reports for the original joint replacement surgery and the revision surgery.
• The device record for the original surgery from the hospital chart (this shows the product and lot numbers of the components of the device).
• We also like to have the device. Therefore, it is essential that you get possession of the device as soon as it is removed. It may still be possible to try the case with no device, but it is always better to have it as evidence.