A Johnson & Johnson representative just announced that the president of DePuy Orthopaedics, maker of the recalled DePuy hip implants, is resigning to pursue other interests. David Floyd was president of the Johnson & Johnson unit since 2007, noted DrugWatch.

Facing some 600 lawsuits over its recalled hip devices, Johnson & Johnson-owned DePuy made headlines again last week for its failed ASR XL Acetabular hip replacement devices, which were recalled globally last year. Pulled from the market over significantly high failure rates, the devices are actually failing at a rate four times greater than what was initially revealed, according to the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society, which issued a two-page statement on the higher failure rates.

Many in the orthopedic community have long been issuing warnings on the faulty devices; however DePuy did not issue its recall until late 2010, noted DrugWatch, and then only because of information released from England’s and Wale’s National Joint Registry that stated that about 12-to-13 percent of all patients fitted with the DePuy devices required revision surgery within the first five years of implantation.

Reimplantation or revision surgery involves removal of the device and a surgical implantation with another device, a riskier procedure because of any number of problems including reduced bone surface area, devices being fused to bone, and increased chromium blood rates, a result of the metal-on-metal device disbursing chromium shavings into patients’ bodies.

At 13 percent, the DePuy failure rate was considered quite significant. At up to nearly 50 percent, the issue is even that much more serious given that 93,000 patients—about one-third in the United States—were fitted with the faulty implants worldwide.

If you have been implanted with one of these defective devices, you should immediately seek advice from a lawyer that is knowledgeable about the DePuy hip implant recall and the injuries associated with these hip implants. For a free consultation with such an attorney, complete the form to the right or call 212-566-1000. Based in New York City, Sullivan & Brill, LLP represents clients throughout the United States.