Zimmer Holdings, the nation's biggest producer of orthopedic devices, says it will suspend sales of an artificial hip component that some doctors have complained was failing at a high rate. In recent months, some doctors have complained that the device, a hip socket known as the Durom cup, was failing in their patients, who then had to undergo replacement surgery.

Zimmer said its investigation had determined that the product was not defective. But it stated that even some experienced surgeons had found it difficult to implant. The company said it expected to resume sales once specialized training for doctors had begun. Since it was first sold in the United States in 2006, the Durom cup has been implanted in more than 12,000 patients. Zimmer said it expected the overall need for early replacement in patients would be low. But Zimmer data and interviews with doctors suggest that hundreds of patients might need such procedures in coming years.

The issue with the device surfaced in April when a surgeon in Los Angeles, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, publicly warned other orthopedists about cup failures his patients were experiencing. In response, Zimmer said it would start an investigation but said it saw no reason to take added action like halting sales. Zimmer, which announced the sales suspension late Tuesday, said that its investigation found that using the cup required a higher degree of precision. Dr. Dorr, who said he had stopped using the device last year, said he did not plan to start reusing it. "It is a bad design," he said.

Learn more about Zimmer Durom hip implant injuries and your legal rights.