This type of implant is an artificial hip socket that is created by fitting a metal ball into a metal cup. Metal on metal hip replacements can release high levels of metal particles like cobalt and chromium into a patientâs body. This happens when the metal surfaces of the cup and ball rub together and flake off tiny metal ions that travel through the body in the bloodstream causing metal poisoning. Dementia can be one of the side effects of metal poisoning. For many seniors, a hip or knee replacement is a life-changer that gives them their mobility back. He also complained of chronic pain, social withdrawal, poor sleep and concentration, short-term memory loss and more. However, world-wide media coverage of this issue is likely to cause anxiety among people with a hip replacement regardless Unfortunately, cobalt and chromium are both commonly used in the manufacture of moving parts of hip replacement devices. Sometimes the first symptoms of a metal on metal hip problem can be a reaction in distant parts of the body, like the brain. Cobalt poisoning is a severe side effect of a metal-on-metal hip replacement can cause severe tissue damage, bone death, pain, and other severe symptoms. Many metal hip replacements were constructed using a hard metal called cobalt in order to extend the life of the hip replacement. I just wanted to thank you for your help over the past 3 years...Thank you for negotiating with the DOJ in order to get as much as we could under the circumstance...It has been a pleasure having you and your wonderful staff here to assist me in this long and tedious effort. Some of these were subject to failure and widescale recalls and revisions followed. Metal on Metal Hip Lawsuits & Settlements, Elmiron Lawsuits for Vision Loss Maculopathy, Government Contract Disputes Protests and Litigation, Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuits & Settlements, John and Marie (Last Name Withheld for Privacy), Name Withheld for Privacy of a Minor Child, Wright Medical Profemur defective hip replacement, Wright Medical Conserve Metal on Metal Hips, ALVAL from Metal on Metal Hip Replacements, Bone Loss & Osteolysis related to Metal Hip Replacements, Metallosis â Blood Testing for Metal Ions, Difficulty remembering recent conversations, General forgetfulness and short-term memory loss. The theory is this: When the parts of these devices grind together in your body, tiny metallic particles break off, flooding your bloodstream and lodging into your tissues. Thank you for all of your efforts all along to help resolve lifelong issues I will always have due to this defective implant. So it’s possible that you could suffer from a range of seemingly random health issues for years before finally discovering that your hip replacement was to blame. http://alzheimer.ca/en/Home/About-dementia/Alzheimer-s-disease/Risk-factors, âNeuropsychiatric symptoms following metal-on-metal implant failure with cobalt and chromium toxicityâ â Ben Green et al 2017. hip replacements performed in New Zealand each year,1 metal-on-metal implant prostheses account for only 8% of the total.2 A small percentage of these metal-on-metal devices are considered at higher risk for failure. help over the past 3 years. The recently released Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge features an orthopedic doctor who had a DePuy ASR metal on metal hip replacement, which was marketed towards people who lead active lifestyles. If you show signs of dementia and have a metal on metal hip replacement, it may be evidence that you are experiencing negative reactions to high metal ion levels in your body. During that time, he had high levels of chrome and cobalt in his blood. This is very serious business, to say the least. It’s okay. Well I’m glad you asked…. A new documentary film highlights multiple systemic flaws in the FDA's approval process specifically for medical devices and it's putting millions of patients at risk. Cobalt poisoning can also occur from the wear and tear of some cobalt/chromium metal-on-metal hip implants. Tower thought it might be related to his metal-on-metal hip replacement and had it redone. I’m talking about artificial hips—or more specifically, joint replacement. And you should know that if you have any artificial body parts—especially hips—then you might also have high levels of cobalt and chromium in your body. We will be measuring his cobalt levels, as these two go in tandem for hip replacement patients. It also shows that the areas of the brain affected by ACE are different than you’d see with any other type of dementia… which is enough to make you wonder how many people have been misdiagnosed. Most sincere thanks. This is truly life changing for us. I could not have chosen a finer firm near or far to represent us. A doctor will diagnose a patient with dementia if two or more brain functions appear to be impaired, like memory and judgment (alz.org). Well, there’s a test for this (which your doctor probably doesn’t know about, and would never think to order). The term âdementiaâ does not specifically refer to a disease. Instead, it is a general term that describes the loss of memory and other mental abilities. Total hip replacement using implantable metal components is a common medical surgery that has been performed in North America for more than 50 years. And when those moving parts move, they can shred, releasing into the bloodstream two elements that can cause metallosis. Fresh warning over toxic metal hip replacements... now doctors claim they could cause Alzheimer's There are concerns that the devices are leaching toxic chemicals into … My first response is "Wow!" I feel that your efforts on my part made all the difference. Sign up for Dr. Pescatore's Free E-Letter and receive this bonus report: Reverse Alzheimer's! November 3, 2016: (National Institute of Health) Seven substances added to 14th Report on Carcinogens Cobalt and cobalt compounds that release cobalt ions* in the body are being listed as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. All doctors should assess the mental health of patients who received metal on metal implants. Thank goodness I found you and your law firm. Three different case studies of cobalt toxicity after hip replacement surgery were presented within 10 days of each other in early 2014. Alternatively, metal poisoning may have triggered early onset dementia in these patients. But it’s one that comes up often enough in my practice that I’m sure many of you have wondered about it, too. As attorneys litigating these cases, we strongly suspect dementia can be caused by the toxic heavy metals released from these hip implants. There is growing scientific and medical research pointing to this. Concern was raised that this potentially reversible form of brain injury may be misdiagnosed as age related or a permanent progressive dementia, delaying or preventing adequate treatment. 1015 15th Street NorthwestSuite 1125Washington, DC 20005, 1325 4th AvenueSuite 1730Seattle, WA 98101, mctlaw® is a federally registered trademark owned by Maglio Christopher & Toale, PA. Any unauthorized use of mctlaw is expressly prohibited.Privacy Policy | Terms. I know you must be proud of your people! Your case review is free. In The Bleeding Edge, Dr. Tower wonders if some elderly patients – the ones most likely to need a hip transplant – might have been wrongfully diagnosed with a form of dementia, when in fact they were showing signs of a reversible condition, instead. It was so nice to deal with someone who treated us with respect and had a true interest in our future. But the real moral of the story here is that artificial hips made from cobalt should be avoided at all costs. So again, thank you. Cobalt and chromium levels in their blood were tracked after receiving the implant. Additionally, patients were also monitored for medical issues known to be reactions to metal ions in the blood. This happens when the metal surfaces of the cup and ball rub together and flake off tiny metal ions that travel through the body in the bloodstream causing metal poisoning. That well defined for chromium, cobalt or some combination of these symptoms aren ’ t discussed in! 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