'Faulty' hip replacements recall

Studies have shown the artificial hip can damage the bone

A Swansea hospital has told up to 40 patients their artificial hip may have to be replaced.

Medics at Morriston Hospital said the prosthetic devices used are failing earlier than expected.

Patients now face a new round of surgery over the next two or three years due to the medical product recall.

The hospital has issued a telephone hotline but said only 95 people had that particular hip product.

Swansea NHS Trust, which runs Morriston Hospital, issued the advice after an investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

We have been seeing these patients in clinics and I would stress that most patients will not require any further treatment or a replacement of the prosthesis Surgeon David Woodnutt

The inquiry found the replacement hip, called the ABG I acetabular cup, may wear out sooner than expected, causing damage to the bone.

The trust said the issue did not apply to the vast majority of the thousands of people treated at Morriston's Orthopaedic Unit.

It said staff at the unit had been reviewing the progress of the 95 patients over the last year to 18 months who had received the ABG Mark 1 cup.

A statement read: "The X-rays of all 95 patients have already been reviewed, and it is anticipated that about 30 to 40 of these patients will need further surgery over the next two to three years to replace the prosthesis."

Surgeons will let patients know if they need more surgery

"Patients who have not been given an ABG Mark 1 cup will not require any additional care and the trust is keen to point out that this issue applies only to this particular cup."

Mr David Woodnutt, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Morriston added: "Patients should not be unduly worried and only a very small number of patients have been given the ABG Mark 1 cup.

"We have been seeing these patients in clinics and I would stress that most patients will not require any further treatment or a replacement of the prosthesis.

"However, in order to reassure patients, arrangements will be made to see all the remaining patients over the next two months."

Telephone hotline

The hospital's help line is 01792 771576 and is manned from 0930 GMT to 1630 GMT Monday to Friday.

More than 40,000 hip replacement operations are carried out by the NHS each year and more than 500,000 people in the UK have received hip implants in the last 10 years.

Approximately 3,260 ABG I acetabular cups were implanted in the UK between 1990 and 2000.