Zimmer pulls metal-on-metal Durom acetabular hip implants from Australian market (MassDevice)
In another blow to the metal-on-metal hip implant market, orthopedic giant Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH) canceled its Durom Acetabular Component from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, the regulatory agency announced this week.
The implant, which had virtually faded from use already, was pulled after data showed that it was responsible for higher revision rates compared with similar devices.
Data from the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry found that the Durom components were associated with a 9.6% cumulative revision rate at 7 years when used in hip resurfacing and a 6.8% rate at 5 years when used in total hip replacement.
Similar devices had a 7-year resurfacing revision rate of 6.1% and a 5-year total hip replacement revision rate of 3.6%, according to the ARTG notice.
Zimmer issued a "hazard alert" to physicians who had implanted the device, but the ARTG noted that the Durom components aren't particularly popular anymore.
The Durom acetabular implant had declined in use in Australia since 2005, and the last recorded implant with the device took place in June 2011, a...
