A U.S. consumer advocacy agency (CAA), a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan can help identify premature failure of all-metal hip implants before symptoms occur.

The US Drug Watchdog (Washington DC, USA), a CAA established for victims of recalled drugs, are showing concern for recipients of an all-metal hip implant, and premature failures that could spur additional medical issues such as metallosis.

“We do not want any recipient of an all-metal hip implant to get left behind with no settlement if their all-metal hip implant has prematurely failed all individuals who now have a cobalt and chromium hip [should] get an MRI for conclusive proof of the condition of their hip implant. If there is tissue inflammation in the area of the stem, or the ball, and cup of the hip implant it is a very good indication of a premature failure," said the US Drug Watchdog’s spokesperson.

Moreover, according to a new study by researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY, USA), metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants can bring about inflammation of the joint lining (synovitis) way before symptoms begin to show, and MRI can be utilized to effectively detec this inflammation.

The study is to be featured in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery and shows that MRI can be employed to detect implants that are going to fail before people become symptomatic.

The overall objective of the US Drug Watchdog is to inform and notify US consumers about deadly US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug recalls, and recalled defective medical devices.