If you didn’t see the Four Corners story on ABC television about Articular Surface Replacement hips, now would be a good time to catch it.  Still available on iView , it offers a patient’s eye view of the suffering involved when DePuy ASR hips fail.

Firmly in the crosshairs are DePuy (read the excellent questions submitted by Quentin McDermott to the prosthetics company – questions that were sadly left unanswered), the TGA (read their press release) and a prominent Adelaide orthopod (involved in both the design and subsequent use of the DePuy ASR prostheses).

DePuy was obliged to release information about payments to other surgeons involved in design of the ASR prostheses and is now embroiled in a cluster of ever-increasing lawsuits.

A media statement issued by SportsMed (the facility where the prominent orthopod worked prior to his resignation in 2010) makes interesting reading.  The implications of their statement  ” SPORTSMED·SA Hospital is currently arranging an independent review of Dr Oakeshott’s DePuy ASR hip implant study data” are ominous.

Fellow Medics: Beware not only the Ides of March but also Conflict of Interest.