Sophia Harrison, 52, is facing the prospect of having two further discs removed from her spine after an artificial implant intended to relieve her neck pain began destroying her bone tissue. The implant, an M6-C artificial disc, was fitted in 2019 as a safer alternative to spinal fusion. But soon after, she developed pins and needles and a lump in her throat. A CT scan diagnosed osteolysis – a progressive condition where bone tissue is destroyed and reabsorbed by the body.
“My doctor said he nearly fell off his chair looking at the results as the infection continued to grow despite being drained,” Harrison said. “I can feel it growing again by the day and I’ve now been told they may have to take out two further discs along with the implant and insert a metal rod.”
“Thousands face complex surgery after M6-C spinal implants linked to bone-destroying osteolysis, patient Sophia Harrison says”
Harrison, from East Grinstead, East Sussex, is one of at least 10 people who have contacted law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper with complications from the M6-C disc. Australian regulators issued a hazard alert on bone loss associated with the device in 2020, but the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) did not notify patients for another six years.
“I am so angry that we weren’t told about the faults of the disc that leads to bones disintegrating,” Harrison said. “It’s absolutely despicable as the manufacturer would have known about this so why has it taken so long? If I had known earlier, the infection would have been caught and I would not be facing what has now become such complex and daunting surgeries on my spine.”
Lyndsey Skibinski, Harrison’s medical negligence solicitor, called it “a potentially huge public health issue with thousands of patients affected.” Most of those approaching the firm have had the implant in place for between eight and nine years. “It is crucial that anyone who has this implant gets a scan to identify any problems and continues with recommended annual monitoring,” Skibinski said. “Many will need complex surgery to remove the implants which poses the risk of paralysis or long term chronic pain.”
Harrison is speaking out to urge other patients to seek scans. “You may not even be aware you have an associated infection or other symptoms,” she said. “I feel for all of the surgeons who are having to clear up the mess of the previous doctors who inserted these implants into patients.”