MHRA says hip-replacement implants pose ‘small risk’ to patients

MHRA says hip-replacement implants pose ‘small risk’ to patientsThe Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said that the implants used in treatment of hip-replacement patients pose a `small risk'.

The MHRA acknowledged that the implants could cause complications and it has also issued an alert to orthopaedic surgeons. The surgeons are asked to contact the affected patients. The metal implants can cause health problems including severe pain and long-term disability.

According to estimates, about 50,000 hip-replacement patients will need annual medical checks. MHRA has said that it has reports about 370 "adverse incident" relating to metal-on-metal implants, but it is believed that the actual number of adverse incidents could be much higher and it went unreported.

The move by the regulator comes soon after a report published in the British Medical Journal claimed after investigations that there was a systematic failure in the regulation of medical devices, which resulted in many patients being left with risky implants.

Experts say that the cobalt-chrome alloy used to make metal-on-metal hips could pose some risk to the patients. Documented records show that sometimes very small metal ions break off from the implants and leak into the blood and this may affect muscle and bone, cause severe pain and even long-term disability.

The MHRA had recently faced criticism over its response to the issue of faulty breast implants produced by French firm, Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP) that affected thousands of women across the UK. The regulator is once again being accused of focusing of industry needs and compromising on safety

Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action against Medical Accidents, said: "Time and time again we have seen that the MHRA is over-reliant on manufacturers with a vested interest to do a job that should be controlled by the regulator."