The Hip-Detectives
Principal consultant Mr. Alister Hart, an orthopaedic surgeon and senior lecturer at Imperial College London, will conduct detailed inspections of ASR hips, retrieved from patients who have undergone revision surgery following a global voluntary recall of the implants in August 2010. The majority of the inspection will take place at the London Implant Retrieval Centre (LIRC), based at Imperial’s Charing Cross campus. Mr. Hart co-founded the LIRC in 2008 with John Skinner, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, to better understand the mechanism of failure of metal-on-metal hip replacements.
The LIRC will decontaminate, store and undertake detailed non-destructive inspections of the ASR devices. Handling of the implants and associated tissue by LIRC has been approved by the Human Tissue Authority. The LIRC will not have cup angle or radiographic data in relation to these explants and therefore the inspection reports will focus purely on detailed inspection of the implants. The inspection reports produced in relation to individual devices will be sent to DePuy. These reports will also be shared with the respective surgeon, patient or legal representative of the patient upon request.
Imperial Consultants, the UK’s leading provider of academic consultancy, were approached to provide inspection and storage services in respect of the retrieved ASR MoM hip implants owing to the international reputation of Mr. Hart and the LIRC. Mr. Hart and his team have published over 40 scientific papers in the field, with research from the LIRC influencing advice given by the MHRA, the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society.
DePuy has made detailed information regarding the voluntary recall of the ASR MoM hip implants available on www.depuy.com and has created a help line for patients to have their questions answered.