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Most patients look forward to knee replacement surgery and the opportunity to resume normal activities of daily living. Unfortunately, many patients who underwent a total knee replacement procedure with DePuy’s Attune knee replacement system are now looking forward to a revision surgery to have the device removed or repaired due to implant failures.

Since 2011, more than 700,000 total knee replacement surgeries have used DePuy’s Attune knee implant worldwide. In June of 2015, DePuy Synthes was forced to issue a worldwide voluntary recall of several of the component parts of its Attune knee replacement system by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for failing to receive prior FDA approval.

According to case studies and adverse event reports, reported to the FDA claim the tibial base plate of the DePuy Attune fails to adhere to the cement mantle and comes out clean or with little adherence or attachment to the cement interface. Additionally, a component part of the Attune knee implant is a small wire spring called the “Balseal” has been found to detach and break off in pieces that can become embedded in tissue surrounding the artificial knee during the surgical procedure. When this occurs, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from wobbliness, looseness, instability, abnormal warmth, unexplainable swelling and severe pain. Consequently, many patients have required revision surgery to repair or replace the artificial knee.

It is believed that the Attune knee replacement will be the subject of many lawsuits in the future as failures continue to mount. The first reported lawsuit against DePuy Synthes, the medical devices unit of Johnson & Johnson, over its Attune Knee Replacement was filed in 2017.

The Attune Knee isn’t the first DePuy Synthes artificial device to run into problems.  In 2015, the company reached a settlement with patients over its ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System. As part of the settlement, millions were set aside to assist patients with their recovery.

The attorneys at Grewal Law, PLLC are investigating the Attune knee and have lots of information about it already.  If you have questions about your DePuy knee replacement, contact us for a consultation free of charge and completely confidential.

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