A Wyee woman who had a knee replacement with a "faulty implant" is part of a class action seeking damages from the manufacturer, global medtech company Exactech.
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Kerry Scott had double knee surgery at a Central Coast private hospital in January 2020.
"It was meant to give me my life back," Mrs Scott, 70, said.
"I was looking forward to the prospect of being able to play pain-free with my 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren."
She was also keen to return to swimming and playing sports, but her right knee didn't recover after surgery.
"I kept going back to the doctor and he finally said 'I'll send you for an MRI and I'm thinking of doing an arthroscope to see what's going on inside that knee'.
"When the doctor did the arthroscope, he could see the implant was falling to bits.
"When I went back to get the stitches out, he had a letter from Exactech on his desk. That's when he told me what had happened."
The letter stated that "Exactech Australia initiated a voluntary recall of knee inserts, which had a packaging issue".
"In a small number of cases, the insert may show wear earlier than anticipated. This may require treatment."
Mrs Scott had another operation to pull out the implant and try to rectify the problem, but it didn't solve it.
Gerard Malouf and Partners (GMP Law) took on Mrs Scott as a client.
The law firm said it was "investigating on behalf of patients who received faulty hip, knee and ankle implants".
The firm is calling for more clients to join the class action, saying Exactech had recalled "more than 200,000 of its implants globally due to defects caused by insufficient packaging".
Exactech is reportedly facing hundreds of lawsuits in the US over defective implants.
"According to the company, from 2004 to 2021 the hip, knee and ankle implants known as arthroplasty polyethylene inserts were packaged in non-conforming vacuum bags," GMP Law chairman Gerard Malouf said.
"We have received multiple complaints from patients who are suffering with significant health complications after receiving one of these Exactech implants.
"While the company has recalled the product for hundreds and potentially thousands of Australians, the damage has already been done."
An Exactech document stated that the "non-conforming bags" may lead to increased oxidation of the implants which, "in conjunction with other surgical factors", could "severely degrade" them and lead to "accelerated wear debris production, bone loss, and/or component fatigue cracking or fracture".
This would require "corrective revision surgery".
Mrs Scott had an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic during surgery and "ended up in the ICU for a week".
She won't have more surgery due to the "risk with the anaesthetic".
Exactech is covering the cost of replacement surgeries, but GMP Law believes patients should be compensated.
"Patients have been suffering with extreme pain, fractures, loss of movement and - in many cases - have required further surgeries to rectify the issues. Many may not be eligible for further surgeries."
Mrs Scott said she wanted Exactech "held accountable for the pain they've caused me and countless others".
"I'm cranky and it upsets me when I think too hard about it. I was an active person. I played squash and tennis and ran around with the kids. I loved swimming and walking along the beach.
"I can't even walk on the beach now. If I fall on the sand I can't get up."
Exactech Australia was contacted for comment.
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