After a seventy year-old man underwent a total hip arthroplasty, his new hip was inadvertently dislocated by the hospital staff as he was transferred from the operating table to his hospital bed. The damage was allegedly so severe that he was forced to redo the entire replacement operation immediately, and developed more complications postoperatively that required oversight in ICU and rehab in an assisted living facility. The consequences of the procedure were claimed to be long-term at the time of trial, and the man was told he would need to live in his living facility and use a walker for the rest of his life.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Do you perform total hip arthroplasty on a regular basis?
2. Have encountered patients with complications similar to this case?
Expert Witness Response E-017758
I specialize in total hip arthroplasty and revision total hip arthroplasty. It’s not too clear what the complications after the second procedure were, but I would guess more dislocation and fracturing. Those are both problems I’ve encountered myself, and I regularly lecture and publish on fractures and dislocations, as well as overall complications following total hip replacement.
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