A BUSINESSMAN who received a faulty hip implant has told of his painful struggle to have the "toxic" product removed.
Peter Connor, of Erskine, received the implant when he was just 37, after suffering from arthritis, but a year later began to experience painful side effects.
The father-of-three, now 43, was fitted with a "metal on metal" (MoM) implant. He complained for four years that he was in pain and he had to continually take painkillers before blood tests finally revealed metal particles in his bloodstream.
The implant has since been removed and replaced with a ceramic one.
Mr Connor said: "It transformed my life, as it should have done. It meant I could spend more time with my kids, I could cycle, walk, run.
"But after a year something changed. I was on yearly check-ups and I said to them that something felt different. They did X-rays and I was reassured that it was just settling in.
"It got worse as the years went on and I was back on painkillers constantly and it was just as bad, if not worse, than before the operation."
He added: "Finally, about a year ago, they started doing blood tests and discovered that I had metal particles in my blood.
"There was also quite a lot of inflammation around my hip which was causing the pain."
Mr Connor is one of an estimated 4000 Scots potentially affected by faulty hip implants.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has advised that those fitted with large-headed MoM implants should receive annual check-ups for life.
Mr Connor has launched a civil action against De Puy who manufactured the articular surface replacement hip.
That particular type of hip has since been recalled.
He added: "It's really important that people out there realise that there's a problem.
"The situation is potentially a huge, ticking time bomb."
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