In late August of 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., a long time orthopedic products manufacturer and subsidiary of health care products and pharmaceuticals giant, Johnson & Johnson, issued a voluntary recall of its ASR XL Acetabular Hip System and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System. The issuance of this recall was tantamount to an admission by DePuy that it had produced and sold hip replacement products with substandard failure rates, with as many as twelve percent (12%) of patients requiring “revision” surgery to repair problems associated with these devices – in other words, the devices were removed and replaced.

Absent the aforementioned recall, there are indications that DePuy had been aware of problems with its hip replacement products for some time. In 2006, DePuy issued warning letters to physicians regarding higher than usual failure rates of its ASR hip implants in smaller patients with osteoporosis. Three years later, DePuy completely withdrew the ASR hip from selected markets, claiming poor sales as the reason behind its decision. Despite these apparent acknowledgements of serious issues with its ASR implants, DePuy kept its products in remaining markets until issuing its worldwide recall in 2010.

David Floyd, DePuy Orthopedics president at the time of the recall, issued the following statement:

“We regret that this recall will be concerning for patients, their family members and surgeons. We are committed to assisting patients and health care providers by providing information through multiple channels and paying for the cost of doctor visits, tests and procedures associated with the recall.”