TYPES
TYPES OF
TYPES OF SURGERY.WITH A COMMON FIX.BUT THERE'S MOUNTING
EVIDENCE OF MAJOR HEALTH
PROBLEMS AFTER PATIENTS
HAVE IT PUT IN THEIR BODIES.
THE KVUE DEFENDERS HAVE BEEN
INVESTIGATING
MEDICAL DEVICE DANGERS SINCE THE
BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
AND TONIGHT WE HAVE A NEW
DEVELOPMENT FOR HERNIA
PATIENTS.
HERE'S TERRI GRUCA.
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR
7,286 PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE FDA ABOUT PAIN
AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS
CAUSED BY A PLASTIC MESH USED TO
FIX HERNIAS --200
FEWER COMPLAINTS THAN ALL OF
LAST YEAR.
A GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE
SUFFERING
FROM THIS COMMON HERNIA FIX. AND
TONIGHT -- A DOCTOR WHO EXPLAINS
WHY IT SHOULDN'T BE
SO COMMON.
MOVING IS NEVER EASY.
IT'S EVEN HARDER WHEN YOU'RE
RECOVERING
RECOVERING
FROM
FROM YOUR
FROM YOUR 9TH SURGERY. I WISH SOMEBODY HAD TOLD ME DON'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT
CARMEN PACHECO ENDURED YEARS OF
PAIN
FOLLOWING WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
A SIMPLE HERNIA
REPAIR.
A SURGERY THAT HAS COST HER MORE
THAN HER HEALTH.
IT'S PUT A STRAIN ON OUR
MARRIAGE WE LOST OUR HOUSE
WE
WE HAVE
WE HAVE TO MOVE IT'S SO EXPENSIVE I CAN'T WORK WE HAVE TO GET A
CHEAPER, A SMALLER HOUSE :37
IT WAS TOUGH. I THOUGHT THIS WAS
IT. I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO
LIVE
WITH THIS FOR THE REST OF MY
LIFE.
59 YEAR OLD DOMINICK DRISDON
NEVER FULLY
RECOVERED FROM THE HERNIA
SURGERY HE
HAD IN 2006.
MONTHS LATER AS I WAS GETTING
BETTER I NOTICED I COULDN'T GET
UP
OUT OF BED. IT WAS LIKE A VERY
SHARP, BURNING PAIN LIKE SOMEONE
WAS STABBING ME WITH A KNIFE AND
THAT WENT ON FOR YEARS. 27.08 >
CONT VO
BOTH DOMINICK AND CARMEN HAD
HERNIA REPAIR SURGERY USING
MESH.
MESH. A
MESH. A PLASTIC MATERIAL THAT LOOKS LIKE A WINDOW SCREEN
--USED SINCE THE 1980S.
IT
IT HASBECOME INCREASINGLY COMMON IN RECENT YEARS BECAUSE IT SEEMED TO LAST
LONGER, TOOK LESS TIME AND
WAS INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE.
SOT
SOT
SOT IT
SOT IT WAS PUSHED VERY HARD BY ALL
THE MANUFACTURER S BECAUSE THE PROFITS ARE SO
HIGH. A PIECE OF MESH WOULD
COST MAYBE A DOLLAR TO MAKE AND
THEY WOULD CHARGE
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO DO THIS
>
CALIFORNIA SURGEON DR. WILLIAM
BROWN HAS
PERFORMED THOUSANDS OF HERNIA
SURGERIES --
BUT NO LONGER USES MESH.
GENERAL SURGEON FROM CA
1:58-2:13
AFTER ABOUT A YEAR OF USING THE
MESH PATIENTS STARTED COMING
BACK WITH CHRONIC PAIN,
STIFFNESS AND OTHER PROBLEMS
2:09 I ENDED UP HAVING TO REMOVE
MESH FROM THE VERY PATIENTS I
WAS PUTTING IT INTO
HE IS ONE OF THE FEW SURGEONS IN
THE COUNTRY
THAT DOES ONLY PURE TISSUE
REPAIR.
I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT
THIS WAS STUPID WHY WOULD I GO
FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS WORKING
PERFECTLY WELL
TO SOMETHING THAT HAD ALL THESE
COMPLICATIONS TO
IT :25 SO I WENT BACK VERY
QUICKLY TO DOING PURE TISSUE
REPAIR :29 FOR HERNIAS AND I'VE
BEEN DOING THAT EVER SINCE
PATIENTS LIKE DOMINICK -- SEEK
HIM OUT TO REMOVE
WHAT OTHER DOCTORS PUT IN.
A
A FEW
A FEW WEEKS LATER I WAS LIKE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SIT UP OUT OF BED
YA KNOW. NO PAIN WHATSOEVER.
CARMEN RECENTLY HAD HER MESH
REMOVED TOO
BY A DOCTOR IN MARYLAND-- BUT
AFTER A DECADE OF
SUFFERING HER RECOVERY HAS BEEN
SLOW.
SLOW.
HE
HE DID
HE DID A
HE DID A TOTAL RECONSTRUCTION OF MY ABDOMEN I USED TO WEIGH 225 POUNDS I
WEIGH 125 POUNDS
HER
HER FAMILY SUFFERS TOO. A PILE OF MEDICAL BILLS FORCING THEM TO TRY TO FIND
A CHEAPER PLACE TO LIVE.
I FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER BUT
MY LIFE HAS CHANGED COMPLETELY
I'M
NEVER GOING TO BE THE SAME
NEVER :12
ANOTHER FAMILY CRY FOR HELP
FROM A COMMUNITY
AFFECTED BY THE DANGERS OF
MEDICAL DEVICES.
I'M HOPING YOUR INTERVIEW HERE
AND YOUR PUSHING MORE
INFORMATION OUT THERE WILL HELP
THE GOVERNMENT SEE THAT THIS IS
A
MAJOR PROBLEM AND HOPEFULLY GET
LEGISLATION TOGETHER TO HELP
PROTECT THE PATIENTS
CARMEN WILL STILL NEED AT
LEAST ONE MORE SURGERY.
BUT
BUT HER
BUT HER DOCTOR SAID SHE WILL NEED TO WAIT ABOUT 8 MONTHS.
IF YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE HAVE A
STORY ABOUT MEDICAL
DEVICE PLEASE SHARE IT ON OUR
KVUE MEDICAL DEVICE
DANGERS FACEBOOK PAGE. FOR THE
KVUE DEFENDERS I'M TERRI GRUCA.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE
THE KVUE DEFENDERS TO INVESTIGATE --
EMAIL US AT DEFENDERS AT
KVUE DOT COM OR CALL US AT THE
NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN.