Events

Safety Alert Or Field Safety Notices for Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) acetabular cups

According to Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, this safety alert or field safety notices involved a device in United Kingdom that was produced by Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ltd.

What is this?

Field safety notices are communications sent out by medical device manufacturers or their representatives in relation to actions that they may be taking in relation to their product that is on the market. These are mainly for health workers, but also for users. They can include recalls and alerts.

Learn more about the data here
  • Type of Event
    Safety alert / Field Safety Notice
  • Event ID
    MDA/2007/063
  • Event Number
    CON2032041
  • Date
    2007-08-15
  • Event Country
    United Kingdom
  • Event Source
    MHRA
  • Event Source URL
    https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20141206095400/http://www.mhra.gov.uk/PrintPreview/PublicationSP/CON2032041
  • Notes / Alerts
    Data from the United Kingdom is current through April 2019. All of the data comes from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, except for the categories Manufacturer Parent Company and Product Classification.
    The Parent Company and the Product Classification were added by ICIJ.
    The parent company information is based on 2017 public records. The device classification information comes from FDA’s Product Classification by Review Panel, based on matches of recall data from the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
  • Extra notes in the data
  • Reason
    Inappropriate mixing of head and cup sizes due to incorrect labelling of the cups. the need for early revision due to loose joint fit as a result of mislabelled cups. some acetabular cups manufactured by smith & nephew orthopaedics ltd. have been labelled with the wrong cup diameter. the manufacturer recalled some affected products in march 2007 and then extended the recall in june and again in july (see mhra website). the manufacturer has provided mhra with a list of uk affected products (see appendix in pdf only). the mhra is aware of two uk revisions arising from loose fit due to acetabular cups of the wrong diameter being implanted as a result of this mislabelling.
  • Action
    Identify and quarantine any unimplanted affected devices (see Appendix in pdf only). DO NOT implant affected devices. Return affected devices to the manufacturer. Review the post operative x-rays of patients already implanted with affected devices to identify any size mismatch of head and cup; In patients with mismatched devices - consider the need for implant revision; where implants are not being revised, consider measuring serial serum cobalt and chromium levels to monitor implant wear over-time; if monitoring reveals these levels are increasing, reconsider the need for implant revision; Set up systems to report all revisions with these incorrectly labelled cups to the implant manufacturer and the MHRA.

Device

Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) acetabular cups
  • Model / Serial
  • Product Description
    Hip resurfacing implants. Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) acetabular cups manufactured by Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ltd (see Appendix for affected lot numbers in pdf only). BHR acetabular cups (46mm, 48mm, 50mm, 52mm, 54mm, 56mm, 58mm, 60mm, 62mm, 64mm). Affected UK lot numbers (see Appendix in pdf only).
  • Manufacturer
    Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ltd

Manufacturer

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ltd