FIFTY-TWO patients in Warrington and Halton have been affected following a worldwide recall of two faulty hip replacement systems.

Manufacturer DePuy Orthopaedics Inc, a division of Johnson & Johnson, made the announcement following a high number of complaints.

The two systems, called ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System, became available from July 2003.

Information showed that in the first five years following surgery, between 12 and 13 per cent of patients needed to have revision operations, which are complicated and risky procedures.

Patients reported pain and swelling of nerve and muscle tissue, bone damage, difficulty walking and blood poisoning, caused by fragmented pieces of metal.

Data suggested that roughly 10,000 people in the UK have had one of the DePuy systems implanted, 35 of whom were treated at Warrington and Halton hospitals and 17 at Spire Cheshire Hospital, Stretton.

A Warrington and Halton Hospitals spokesman said: “Once we were informed of the recall we immediately identified the patients that have received these hip replacements and are in the process of contacting them to arrange appointments.

“We have not used these implant since January 2010 and these products have only been used in on per cent of our patients who have had hip replacements.

“We would like to stress to patients they do not need to contact us, we will be contacting all patients who have had hip replacements using the identified products.”

A Spire Cheshire spokesman added: “Patient safety is always our top priority. In line with the DePuy guidelines some of our patients have had follow-up examinations.

“Any treatment required and annual follow-up appointments will be offered free of charge if they had their original procedure at our hospital.”

Criticism has mounted towards DePuy in light of their failure to act on warnings that were raised in 2007.

Despite concerns about the product’s defects, the DePuy hip replacement remained on the market for years until the recall.

The DePuy system was withdrawn from Australia in December 2009 for commercial reasons but nothing further was done until last August when the recall was issued in the UK.

A report published this month by the British Hip Society and British Orthopaedic Association stated: “All patients with these components should be identified and should be informed that they have a hip replacement device that has been withdrawn and that they are now under the umbrella of close clinical follow up and surveillance.”

DePuy is facing a potential multi-million pound payout to patients in the UK as more people come forward to claim compensation for their pain and suffering, loss of earnings, further medical care and other expenses.