The NHS has launched a review after more than 10,000 knee replacement patients were fitted with a potentially faulty implant.
The part failed up to six-times more often than would usually be expected, leaving some people immobile and addicted to painkillers.
Now an investigation has revealed the product - made by US firm Zimmer Biomet - was only recalled eight years after concerns were first raised about its reliability.
Hundreds of people needed a second operation after the implant slipped out of place, with each revision costing the NHS £10,000 to £30,000 a time.
All patients fitted with the problematic implant should now have been recalled for a review by the hospital where they first had their operation.
