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John Oliver discusses the FDA’s medical device clearance/approval process
John Oliver is a comedian who covers hot topics in American society and just did a show on the FDA’s medical device approval or clearance process. I’d post the link directly but it has some crude moments. He does a good job of covering the basic problems of the medical device industry. Nothing new for anyone who has been following the situation but he ties it all together in a sadly funny way. Notice that J&J is right in the middle of it.
It gets serious at 3:00 minutes. Search “Medical Devices: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” on youtube.
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4 Replies
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I like John Oliver.
Bill Brown MD -
An interesting read on this topic on this link, it is about half way down the article discussing use of mesh and FDA and different doctors views. https://www.generalsurgerynews.com/In-the-News/Article/01-19/On-the-Spot-The-Art-of-Herniology/53744?sub=51A335B2A07F07423EF3A3BEE242AB695A2E88CB76CB16791576AD74EB6DAA&enl=true
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Thanks for sharing this video. I like how John Oliver and his team try to add some humor to the issue but there is some seriously disturbing stuff going on with the medical device industry. The fact that even some doctors and surgeons are kept in the dark about the approval process the FDA uses for new medical devices blows my mind, but honestly I am not surprised. In the video when the woman talks about having the vaginal mesh in her and what it feels like, that is EXACTLY how I feel each and every day when I wake up, until the time when I am finally able to fall asleep at night. Pulling, burning and tugging sensations, sometimes shooting pain, and the feeling of sandpaper inside me. As a patient it feels like I am my only advocate. My wife, family and friends are sympathetic but only survivors of a bad medical device implant can truly understand what it feels like to have something implanted inside you go so wrong. The FDA needs to open more avenues for patients to report their failed medical device implant and companies need to be held responsible for the grief they are causing people. I wish doctors and surgeons would be more sympathetic towards these people and realize what their patients are telling them is true and that no, the devices they are implanting in people are not always safe (and often not tested). In a lot of cases us patients feel that the surgeon removes the implant is our only hope and only the removal surgeons see the damage first hand that these devices can actually cause.
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Nice to know that the laxity of the FDA approval process is getting some attention. Mr. Oliver has a rather large audience, perhaps this will start some discussions. When I had my surgery, I assumed that every part of the process was quality-controlled.
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