Gene Davis was in his 50s when he could no longer ignore the pain in his knee. He worked two jobs he loved in Stamford, Connecticut – he and his brothers were all firefighters, and they also ran a real estate business together. It meant a lot of walking up stairs. Finally, in July 2019, Davis got his knee replaced with an implant. At first, he was recovering fine. Then, the pain got worse.
An X-ray revealed that bits of the implant had begun to splinter into his leg. He assumed it was bad luck. After a second surgery to get a new version of the same device, manufactured by a Florida-based company called Exactech, things just got worse. “Here we go again,” he thought, “I’m haemorrhaging a lot of blood … and I’m wondering why.” Eventually, Davis, who had always been conscientious about his health and, at 60, still fit into his marine uniform, had to leave his job at the fire department.
In April 2022, less than a year after his second surgery, Davis received a letter from his surgeon, saying that pieces of both implants had been recalled. Problems with the way the implants were packaged left components vulnerable to oxidation, potentially causing them to fragment after surgery, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement about the recall. Davis was actually relieved. “I’m finally going to get better, and it isn’t my fault,” he thought. But after receiving his third implant in August 2022, Davis woke up in the night to find his leg had swollen to double the size. He had to drag himself to the bathroom. His doctor said the leg was infected. It was now scarred and damaged beyond repair.
