No Easy Answers for Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Patients
January 17th, 2008 joshua
Patients are forced to either decide to have lead replacement surgery, getting rid of the defective wires that connect to the defibrillator, or live with the defective device. The surgery is dangerous for those who rely on the device to live, but almost absolutely necessary.
Those who don’t absolutely require the defibrillator still face a risky surgery and both groups of patients are finding lawyers prior to making this decision.
Steven Johnson, quoted in the report as a lawyer who represents a group of Sprint Fidelis lead patients awaiting surgery or weighing the options, says “cardiologists for our clients seem to be weighing the risk of death from device malfunction against risks of replacing the device. They are considering the estimated lead malfunction rate, lead dependency by the patient, and the risk for complications from the removal.
“Our clients would not be facing such a difficult dilemma if Medtronic had conducted adequate testing of the leads prior to selling them.”
We are still searching the hospital for the few remaining medical latex products that we might have overlooked, although we can safely say that all major latex products that are a clear risk to health care workers and patients have been eliminated,” says Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist Robert H. Brown, M.D., M.P.H., the chair of the John Hopkins Hospital Latex Task Force.
