Texas DePuy Attune Knee Lawyer

Studies of the DePuy Synthes Attune® knee replacement show that it can loosen and fail in just a few months, forcing patients to undergo another knee surgery.

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 Attune Knee Implant Problems

Patients are experiencing problems with the tibial baseplate loosening on their DePuy Synthes Attune® knee implant. The reports describe pain, infection, inflammation, broken bones, and muscle damage from unstable or loose knee implants. This is believed to be caused by a lack of bonding between the patient’s knee bones and the metal implant components.

Symptoms of Knee Implant Failure

If you put weight on your knee and it moves sideways, backwards, or “gives out,” you probably have loose components in your knee implant. Other signs of knee implant failure include:

• Knee pain
• Instability
• Loosening
• Infection
• Nerve damage
• Inflammation
• Bone fracture
• Muscle damage
• Swelling
• Decreased mobility or range of motion

Study: “Unusually High Rate of Early Failure of Tibial Component”

Experts analyzed 15 reports of patients who were suffering pain and limited mobility within 2 years of having a DePuy Synthes Attune® knee replacement.

When the defective knee implants were removed, surgeons found that all 15 patients had loose implant components because there was no bone cement attached to the tibial baseplates.

Furthermore, defective design may be what is causing the problem:

“We have encountered a high rate of debonding of tibial implant–cement interface. … Several possible reasons include increased constraint, reduced cement pockets, and reduced keel rotational stabilizers. The tibial component, which has greater torsional loads, has lower surface roughness than femoral component.”

The study was published in the Journal of Knee Surgery in June 2017 — “Unusually High Rate of Early Failure of Tibial Component in ATTUNE Total Knee Arthroplasty System at Implant-Cement Interface”

Surgery for Knee Implant Failure

Patients are suffering painful side effects that ultimately lead to knee implant failure and revision surgery — often within only 1-2 years. When a knee replacement fails prematurely, patients must have another surgery to remove and replace the defective implant. Revision surgery is more difficult than the original surgery, with more pain and a longer recovery time. One leg may also end up shorter than the other, resulting in disability or a limp.

DePuy Synthes Attune Recall

On June 12, 2015, a Class II recall was issued for about 3,274 of the Attune® knee implants because a small wire spring could break off and be left in the patient.