Large Study Shows Women 29% More Likely Than Men to Experience Hip Implant Failure

A recent study done in California which looked at more than 35,000 hip replacement surgeries across 46 hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente health system claims that hip replacements are more likely to fail in women than in men. This includes all types of hip implants—ceramic, polyethylene and metal-on-metal although. While fewer women are implanted with metal-on-metal hip implants, the failure rate of those types of implants was nearly twice as high for women as for men. The all-metal hip implants were marketed as being extremely durable, lasting fifteen years and more.
The claims were not supported, however as recipients of the all-metal hip implants began coming forward with a wide array of negative health effects they claim resulted directly from the all-metal hip implant.

Potential Risks of All-Metal Hip Implants

Some of the manufacturers of the all-metal hip implants were forced to recall their models and are now laboring under hundreds and even thousands of lawsuits. When the metal parts come in contact with one another during times when the patient is walking, running or engaging in other activities, tiny metal shards can shear away from the implant and burrow into surrounding tissues. This causes severe inflammation which, as the metals continue to build up, can lead to destruction and death of tissue, bone loss and chronic pain. In many cases the implant will fail completely, requiring risky revision surgery. Others have suffered adverse health effects when the metal ions enter the bloodstream causing such symptoms as:

·         Gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal and thyroid issues

·         Depression, anxiety, irritability

·         Vision and hearing impairment

·         DNA disruption

·         Pseudo-tumors

·         Loss of balance

·         Memory loss

Failure Rate of Hip Implants among Women

Overall, however, considering all types of hip implant devices, the failure rate at three years post-op is 2.3 percent for women and 1.9 percent for men. Women tend to have much smaller joints and bones than men which require that a smaller femoral head be used in the artificial implant.  Unfortunately the devices which have smaller femoral heads are much more likely to dislocate, requiring risky revision surgery. Another potential cause of the higher revision rate among women could relate to greater bone density loss, particularly in post-menopausal women.

Some research points to the fact that women tend to wait longer before agreeing to hip implant surgery and also report greater levels of pain than men. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families cautioned women not to be fooled by “hype” regarding the latest hip implants. Zuckerman believes women who need a hip replacement implant should research the implants on the market and choose one which has been used for a number of years with very few problems among the implant recipients.