At a Senate hearing on the medical device approval process, Senators heard from a victim named Katie Korgaokar. She had the DePuy ASR hip replacement device implanted and then underwent a second replacement surgery after the recall. It turns out the levels of cobalt and chromium in her blood were nearly 1,000 percent higher than they should be. Why? Because the ASR hip replacement device released metal debris into her body, according to justice.org.
If the pain, inconvenience, and extended rehabilitation of two hip replacement surgeries wasn’t bad enough, Korgaokar discovered that her doctor received more than $600,000 from DePuy. Did the doctor gratuitously promote the DePuy hip replacement device because of this money? We can’t say for sure, but if a company gives you $600,000 you may be more inclined to tell people of the company’s products.
“Although I would like to think these payments had no influence on my doctor’s decision to use the ASR, I will always have doubts,” said Korgaokar.
Unfortunately, Korgaokar is not alone in her doubts. Reports indicate that Depuy paid more than $80 million in kickbacks and “consulting” fee to more than 200 physicians. There were some surgeons who received over $1 million dollars.
If you’d like additional information about the DePuy hip replacement recall, take a moment to download our free consumer report about the recall and DePuy hip replacement injuries.
PA