In September 2010, the food and drugs administration (FDA) issued a Class 2 Zimmer knee recall. This was as a result of the problems that have come up with the stemmed tibial plate of the NexGen knee implants. There were a number of complaints from patients that had this product replacement. It is important to note that the recall only affects the MIS (minimally invasive surgery) tibial components. The major symptoms that led to the Zimmer knee recall include; infection, joint pains, dislocation and loosening of the device.

Data released by renowned surgeons in March 2010 showed the failure of the Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex knee replacement. The data was then presented during the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons conference. A study of 108 patients that had received these implants was conducted. Out of the lot, nine of the patients required a revision surgery within the first two years. The major reason for the recall was the joint pains and the loosening of the replacement. They therefore called for a Zimmer knee recall. The replacements fail to serve the purpose; knee replacements are meant to last over 15 years and if they don’t under normal conditions, they are thought to be dysfunctional. This is just an average of some of the failure cases and they are much higher than this. The cause of the failure of this product is not yet known. The failures however, are not limited to the Zimmer knee recall and critics are urging the battle on a broad-based recall.

To offer base support, surgeons use cement during artificial knee joint replacements. The cement is used as a filler material that is meant to hold together the components of the device. The importance of using the cement is that the device is held properly in place as the day it was installed. The cement however, degrades with time, and it eventually deteriorates to the point that the joint loosens and may eventually dislocate. The product that was affected by the Zimmer knee recall was designed to allow surgeons to install it without cement.

The Zimmer knee recall focuses on the tibial component. The cementless installation was the selling point of the product. The company now advices that surgeons only replace the tibial piece using cement since doing otherwise could lead to untimely loosening and dislocation. Any complication before time or after the wearing off of the cement calls for a revision surgery.

The revision surgery can be either repair of the device, if it is still in good shape, or total removal of the whole device and replacing it with a new one. Most young people who have undergone knee replacement will have to undergo revision surgery at one point down the line. Due to the Zimmer knee recall many people are undergoing through the surgery much sooner. This Zimmer knee recall has brought about a lot of pain for some people. For those people who are undergoing through the symptoms, they can sue for financial compensation for the injuries they get.

Melvin Frost is the author of this article on Zimmer Lawsuit Knee. Find more information on Zimmer NexGen Recall here.