MHRA Updates Recommendations for Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has updated its follow-up recommendations for metal-on-metal hip replacements.

Concerns about the devices’ safety and durability prompted the update. In August 2010, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes recalled two models of its hip replacement systems, while the National Health Service ended most metal-on-metal hip replacement procedures due to high failure rates.

In 2012, MHRA recommended annual blood tests and imaging for metal-on-metal hip replacements showing symptoms of tissue reactions and for all patients with larger or DePuy ASR implants. The new recommendations expand the annual screening to include all female patients who have had hip resurfacing and all male patients with smaller femoral head implants.