Wilkes & McHugh, P.A., a law firm with offices from coast to coast, is representing clients affected by the recent recall of a Johnson & Johnson hip replacement implant.

Johnson & Johnson announced last month the recall of two kinds of hip replacement implants - one for traditional replacements, and one for resurfacing procedures.

The DePuy Orthopaedics unit of Johnson & Johnson makes the implants. The company said it made the decision to recall the implants because many patients required a second hip replacement surgery after the devices failed. The recalled products are:

1. ASR XL Acetabular System, a hip socket used in traditional hip replacement; and
2. DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing Platform, a partial hip replacement intended to preserve more bone.

All components of both products are included in the recall. New data shows that five years after implantation, approximately 13 percent of patients (1 in 8) who had received the ASR total hip replacement needed to have a revision surgery.

The ASR XL Acetabular System was launched worldwide in 2004 and approved for use in the United States in 2005. The ASR Hip Resurfacing System had not yet been approved for use in the United States.

Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. is already representing several clients whose implants have failed. If you know or suspect your hip implant might be a DePuy product, you can contact Wilkes & McHugh for more information by calling 1-800-255-5070 or visiting www.defectivehip.com.

The recall, which was issued Aug. 26, 2010, comes two years after the Food and Drug Administration began receiving complaints about early failure rates of the device. As of March 2010, the FDA had received about 400 complaints, many from patients who had to undergo additional surgery to replace the implants, according to The New York Times.

DePuy had announced late last year that it would begin phasing out the devices because of slow sales. In December, the company voluntarily withdrew the ASR hip replacement implant from the Australian market because of higher-than-expected failure rates, the Times reported.