DePuy recalled the Attune knee implant in 2015. The first lawsuits have been filed by people who suffered pain and needed surgery when their Attune knee loosened and failed.
UPDATE: 1st Attune Knee Lawsuit Filed in Alabama
In September 2017, attorneys in Alabama filed the 1st lawsuit on behalf of an individual who had to have another surgery because the DePuy Attune® knee implant loosened and failed prematurely. Click here to read more.
DePuy Recalls Attune Knee Replacement
In June 2015, DePuy Orthopedics recalled 3,274 knee replacements because a small wire spring on the ATTUNE Knee Tibial Articulation Surface could be damaged, fall off, and be left behind in a patient’s body.
Thousands of Patients May Need Another Surgery
Thousands of patients are at risk of needing surgery because their Attune® Knee System comes loose within a few months or years of surgery. Surgeons blame the problem on poor bonding between the patient’s tibia and the metal baseplate of the Attune® Knee System.
In other words, the cement does not adequately stick the implant onto a patients’ bones. The problem is that it does not bond to the tibial component of the Attune® Knee System. As a result, the tibal component loosens and the entire knee replacement is destabilized.
Should Attune Knees be Recalled?
DePuy has not recalled the Attune® knee replacement due to problems with tibial baseplate de-bonding — despite dozens of reports of patients who needed surgery because they suffered this problem.
“Unusually High Rate of Early Failure” – Study
In June 2017, a group of surgeons published a study describing 15 patients who were suffering from pain and limited mobility within 2 years of being implanted with a DePuy Attune knee replacement.
When the surgeons replaced the failed implants, all 15 patients had no cement attaching the metal tibial baseplate to their tibia. The surgeons blamed the problem on a flawed design of the tibial baseplate.
DePuy updated the design instead of issuing a recall. The new version is called the “Attune S+” and it has different cut-outs on the underside of the baseplate to improve bonding with the patient’s knee bones.
Source: Khlopas, A., et al. (2017). Unusually High Rate of Early Failure of Tibial Component in ATTUNE Total Knee Arthroplasty System at Implant–Cement Interface. The Journal Of Knee Surgery, 30(05), 435-439. doi:10.1055/s-0037-1603756
DePuy Attune Knee Lawsuit in Alabama
The 1st lawsuit involving a DePuy Attune® knee replacement that loosened and failed prematurely was filed by lawyers on September 13, 2017 in the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The lawyers accuse DePuy of failing to recall a defective medical device.
Signs of Knee Implant Failure
- Persistent pain
- Limited mobility
- Instability
- Loose implant
- Poor range of motion
- Bone or muscle damage
- Inflammation
- Unusual swelling
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