Stryker Hip Lawsuit News: New Alert Issued for LFIT V40 Femoral Heads

Published on June 7, 2018 by Sandy Liebhard

Stryker Corp. continues to experience issues with its  LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Head, a hip replacement component that was the subject of a 2016 recall.

Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Background

Stryker’s LFIT V40 femoral heads are designed to be used in conjunction with many of the company’s modular hip stems, including:

• Accolade^® TMZF Femoral Stem
• Accolade II^® Femoral Stem
• Restoration™ Femoral Hip Stem
• Rejuvenate^® Monolithic Stem
• ABG II Monolithic Femoral Stem
• Hipstar^® Femoral Stem
• Citation TMZF HA Stem
• Meridian^® PA Femoral Stem
• Exeter^® V40™ Femoral Stem
• Reliance^® PF Femoral Stem

In August 2016, Stryker announced a worldwide recall for certain LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads manufactured prior to 2011, after the devices were associated with an unusually high rates of taper lock failure. Complications related to taper lock failure may include:

• Loosening of the artificial joint
• Loss of mobility
• Pain
• Inflammation
• Adverse local tissue reaction
• Dislocation
• Joint instability
• Bone fractures around the components
• Leg length discrepancy
• Need for revision surgery

The Stryker hip recall was given Class II designation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which indicates that the affected components could cause temporary or medically-reversible health consequences.

Stryker Expands LFIT V40 Femoral Head Safety Notice

Late last month, Stryker warned that certain LFIT V40 Femoral heads had been associated with a higher-than-usual number of complaints involving femoral head/hip stem disassociation.

Such an occurrence can result in serious complications, including:

• Dislocation
• Pain due to implant loosening
• Peri-Prosthetic fracture
• Leg length discrepancy
• Loss of mobility
• Inflammatory response
• Adverse local tissue reaction
• Need for revision surgery

Stryker has not asked healthcare providers to return any of the affected LFIT V40 Femoral Heads, which were manufactured between 2001 and May 2011, as they would have already been implanted in patients or expired. The company has advised surgeons to continue normal follow-up with the recipients of these components.

Thousands File Stryker Hip Lawsuits Over Allegedly Defective LFIT V40 Femoral Heads

Thousands of plaintiffs have filed Stryker hip lawsuits that seek compensation for injuries and complications associated with LFIT V40 Femoral Heads affected by the 2016 recall.

These cases include more than 3,100 that have been consolidated in a multidistrict litigation now underway in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Hundreds of additional Stryker hip lawsuits involving LFIT V40 Femoral Heads have been centralized in New Jersey’s Bergen County Superior Court.