'Toxic' hip replacement fears Many newspapers and TV stations
have reported that medical regulators have launched an
investigation into a type of hip replacement called a metal-on-
metal (MoM) device (DePuy ASR hip replacement implant). The
concern is that as the hip replacements wear down, metal
particles can be released from the artificial hip, react with
the soft tissue (such as muscle and ligaments) surrounding the
joint and enter the bloodstream. In 2010, the UK regulator, the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
issued a product recall for DePuy ASR, a brand of MoM artificial
hip. This meant that surgeons were told not to implant DePuy ASR
hip replacements and return any unused implants to the
manufacturer. The MHRA has urged surgeons to tell all patients
that had received these DePuy ASR hip replacements about the
recall, and to schedule them for annual follow-up visits. If the
person who had a DePuy ASR hip replacement implant experiences
pain, the surgeons should consider measuri