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06/29/2011 - The DePuy Pinnacle recall might be imminent just like what happened to DePuy ASR hip implant as more than 1300 protests since Novemeber 2010 have been brought to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the product.

Most of the reports are about an unexplainable hip pain, possibly suggesting metallosis on the hip area. Arthroscopic hip surgery may be a safer and less troublesome management of hip problems, there are some cases when a hip replacement is deemed necessary.

The state in which small fragments of metal substance amass in the soft body tissues is called metallosis. This is a very typical complication due to the presence of a metal-on-metal device inside a person's body. Device like a defective DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement might put you at such situation when it is installed in your system.

The friction produced by the rubbing of the 2 metal components of this device cast off tiny bits of metallic substance As these bits of metal ions collect on the nearby tissues, the body is then activated. It is believed that the response of the body's immune system causes the swelling of the affected soft tissue.

Usually, metallosis manifests the followingsymptoms:

- Pain around the affected area

- Difficulty walking

- Appearance of collected fluids that resemble a mass of inflamed cells or tumors (pseudotumors)

- A noticeable rash indicating necrosis (death of a body tissue

- Osteolysis or the reabsorption of the bone into the body

- Implant loosens up

- Elevated levels of cobalt and/or chromium in the blood

The manifestations of metallosis may also suggest other concerns such as fracture of the surrounding bones of the implant or the dislocation of the components of the implant. The problem with metallosis is that it may impose more serious health threats. Toxic levels of cobalt and chromium, for instance, may lead to a number of severe neurologic problems as well as cancer.

The only management to stop the aberrant device from scraping more metallic pieces is to undergo revision surgery. Unfortunately,the severity of metallosis on the surrounding tissue might diminish the success rate of the succeeding surgery. Therefore, it is essential for metallosis to diagnosed and corrected early to prevent more adverse incidences from happening.

Even when just getting an Arthroscopic hip surgery, confer with your doctor once you experience even the first signs of a hip implant problem. Additionally, for legal issues, as long as you have strong evidence that you have suffered injuries as a result of patronizing the product, you may be able to file a DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit.