New Survey Shows Many Hip Replacement Surgeries Fail Due to Surgeon Error

A new survey set to be published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery reveals that when hip replacement surgery fails, the failure is often the direct result of preventable surgical error.

To assess the leading causes of hip-replacement failure, the survey authors analyzed a nationwide hospital survey conducted between October 2005 and December 2006. The survey included data on all hip-replacement surgery revisions that were performed after initial hip-surgery failure.  The authors found that the most common cause of hip-replacement surgery failure was instability or dislocation of the initial hip device, accounting for approximately 23 percent of cases. "Mechanical loosening" of the device caused nearly 20 percent of the revisions, and another 15 percent was attributed to infection.  All of these causes result from surgical or hospital error.

The lawyers at Berger & Lagnese specialize in medical malpractice cases involving surgical and hospital error.