Posted by Daniela Nuñez
What happens when the same medical system you trust
to fix you, ends up being the system that harms you? You become an advocate, of
course! This is the path taken by Lana Keeton, who joined Consumers Union last
year on Capitol Hill to lobby for medical device safety reforms, and her story was
featured in the Austin American-Statesman. Lana was severely
injured by a surgical mesh product in 2001 and had to undergo 17 surgeries to
repair the damage. Lana invited our Safe Patient Project to attend a
presentation she did this week at the University of Texas at Austin.
Here’s a bit of what she said:
Almost 6 years after my near death from a
hysterectomy/bladder suspension I became a patient advocate. It was 4 years, a
few hundred thousand dollars in medical bills and countless doctor visits
before I knew the doctor had implanted a permanently placed, petroleum based
medical device in me. That informed consent I signed December 21, 2001 had
given permission to my doctor to cause me irreversible harm.
Protect yourself and your loved ones from becoming
a drug or device injured person who lives a life of pain, despair and
isolation.
Lana Keeton and Joleen Chambers,
device safety advocates
The presentation room was packed and it allowed the
opportunity for Lana and fellow device safety advocate, Joleen Chambers, to
answer audience members’ questions. Joleen’s brother, Steven, was injured by a failed elbow implant and
he continues to live in constant pain.
One audience person asked, where should one go to
find scientific research about medical devices? Lana responded by discussing
the conflicts of interest in medicine, where manufacturers fund studies on
their products that tout the benefits and downplay the risks to patients. She
also recommended visiting the FDA’s MedWatch website
and MAUDE system
for medical devices. Joleen stressed the importance of consumers getting
involved to push for increased medical device industry accountability and
heightened protections for patients.
We value the work of these advocates who are
informing the public about medical device safety issues and the need for
patients to be informed about device dangers that may not be told to them.
Do you have a medical device story to share? Share
it with us here
and help us fight for safer medical devices. For more information on device
safety issues, read Consumer Reports’ investigation.
http://safepatientproject.org/posts/4296-advocates-share-medical-device-dangers-in-presentation-at-university-of-texas
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