On September 13, 2017, Cunningham Bounds, LLC filed what is believed to be the first lawsuit in the country involving a premature failure of the DePuy Synthes' Attune Knee System. The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County, Ala.
 
DePuy Synthes markets the Attune Knee System as having "patented technologies" that improve range of motion and give patients "the confidence of a stable knee replacement." However, in recent months, DePuy Synthes has filed dozens of reports with the Food and Drug Administration documenting premature failures of the Attune Knee System that have resulted in the destabilization of patients' knee replacements and painful revision surgeries. 
 
Additionally, in an article recently published in the Journal of Knee Surgery, nine prominent orthopedic surgeons reported that they have encountered an unusually high-rate of premature failures of the Attune Knee System. The surgeons attributed the failures to the debonding of the tibial implant-cement interface. In other words, the surgeons discovered that the "glue" typically used to hold an implant in place does not "stick" adequately to the tibial component of the Attune Knee System. As a result, the tibial component of the Attune Knee System loosens and the entire knee replacement is destabilized.
 
Thousands of patients have been implanted with the Attune Knee System. Symptoms associated with premature failures of the Attune Knee System include:

• Instability and Loosening
• Unusual Swelling
• Decreased Range of Motion
• Persistent Pain

 
In most cases, the only medical solution for patients who experience a premature failure of their Attune Knee System is to undergo a revision surgery to remove the implant and replace it. These revision surgeries are often more painful and invasive than the initial replacement surgery.