If you are visiting this site, you are probably a patient or potential patient for HR or THR who wants to make the best possible choices for yourself on choice of surgeon, choice of prosthesis, pre-op preparation, post-op recovery plan and PT etc. We are all fortunate to live in the internet age and I am enormously grateful for how this site in particular and other information resources have provided assistance and perspective in these choices, and has allowed me to become more informed patient and to become a more equal partner in the choices with the medical professionals and experts we ultimately place our trust in to see us right.
However, maybe there are some downsides to a world of instant information? I recall after my first BHR a “WTF?!!” moment when I heard on the financial news that S&N were recalling some BHRs.
This is the announcement that they put out to the financial markets:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200708161322192497CI don’t know about everyone else, but I find this sort of thing a little unsettling, raising the immediate anxiety and question “How can I find out if, or how, this affects me?”
I was very dissatisfied with how S&N handled its announcement with patients in mind. The company’s public announcement was basically “This is not a big deal, we have it under control and our sales of this product will not be materially affected, so please don’t trash our stock price”. Conspicuously absent was any reference to a patient hotline or other patient resource to assist patients in assessing whether this could be a real issue for them. It was also clear when I contacted my surgeon and hospital for further information that S&N had not yet communicated with them on this issue, which frankly p****d me off because I happen to think communications with the medical practitioners and thier potentially affected patients using the product should take precedence over communications with shareholders.
That was a small one. Bigger unsettling developments have shaken the HR world, perhaps most significantly the withdrawal of J&J’s dePuy ASR product. I am grateful that I didn’t have to worry about that one and have enormous empathy for those who did, and hope that the company and their medical professionals have helped them through it in a patient-sensitive way.
It seems that J&J are making a habit of recalls. According to a Wall St Journal Health Blog (which has an ongoing blog called “J&J Recall Watch”!), J&J has had a series of recent recalls across many of its product lines:
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/02/17/jj-recall-watch-ethicon-unit-recalls-two-products/(I don’t know if this requires a subscription to view)
So here’s the thing. In my recent HR my surgeon used internal dissolving sutures and an external topical adhesive called Dermabond. My surgical incision is healing really well and I couldn’t be happier about post-op progress.
But it turns out that this week’s J&J recall is…….you guessed it: 700,000 vials of Dermabond! WTF!?!
I wonder if my surgeon and I will ever find out if/how this might affect me. I’m not holding my breath for a call, other communication or hotline from J&J to put my mind at ease.
And BTW, there has been some recent speculation that J&J wants to acquire S&N - now there's a happy thought.....NOT!!!