Several hundred patients have experienced serious problems and injuries after receiving Durom Cup hip implants in the United States since 2006. But it was a prominent Los Angeles surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, who created this awareness among other doctors and patients that the problem with this defective medical implant was widespread.

Now, patient advocates are calling for the creation of a joint registry, a national database that tracks how patients with artificial hips and knees are doing, according to this news report. Such a database, they believe, will alert doctors and federal regulators quickly when such devices have a high failure rate and possibly spare numerous patients from severe, painful injuries.

Dr. Dorr’s patients reportedly were back in his office soon after they received the implants, suffering from crippling pain. According to Dr. Dorr, x-rays of patients who received defective Durom Cups, showed that the hip socket was separating from bone rather than fusing with it. Patients were given assurances with the Durom Cup that they won’t need another replacement for 15 to 20 years. But to them, this product defect means they will have to undergo another painful surgery to have their defective implant replaced.

When Dr. Dorr expressed his concerns to Zimmer, the biggest manufacturer of orthopedic devices in the United States, they simply told the doctor with decades of surgical experience that his surgical technique was to blame for his patients’ problems. It wasn’t until Dr. Dorr went public with his concerns that he found many other surgeons were experiencing similar problems. It was this doctor’s persistence that prompted an investigation by Zimmer, which eventually took this defective product off the market in July.

It should not have taken Zimmer so long to stop selling the product and it never should have taken so long for the Durom Cup’s defects to surface. This was a poorly designed, defective product that has caused a lot of pain and suffering to thousands of people who received these implants. These patients will have to undergo additional pain to fix the problem and the expense of another surgery to get a new implant that actually works.

If you or someone you know has received this defective implant, I’d like to hear from you. You may be entitled to compensation for additional medical expenses you have incurred as a result of this defective medical product and for the physical and emotional pain you have suffered.