Product Liability Lawyer Blog

May 18, 2015

Report: Xarelto Sales Down

While Bayer AG, the German pharmaceutical giant, has seen a recent increase in quarter-over-quarter profits, sales numbers for their bestselling drug, Xarelto, have actually dropped this past quarter for the first time since the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for market.

Xarelto is a member of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticogulants (NOACs) and, despite what drug makers claim, has been marketed as a replacement for Warfarin (Coumadin) for patients suffering from a serious medical condition known as atrial fibrillation (Afib). Afib is a serious heart condition, which can cause a patient to have a stroke or other serious clotting disorder. Due to Afib, patients must take either a blood thinner or other anticoagulant to prevent clots from forming. Not only can these clots block an artery causing heart failure or stroke, they can break free from the deep veins in which they formed and travel through the patient’s circulatory system to the lungs. If they puncture a hole in a patient’s lung, it leads to a serious medical condition known as a pulmonary embolism, which often results in death of a patient.
Continue reading

May 15, 2015

Testosterone Replacement Therapy and Hypogonadism

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

This time of year, there are a lot of sports to choose from on television. With the NBA and NHL playoffs in full swing, NASCAR racing and a still new Major League Baseball season underway, many are heading to sports bars, which have enough screens to watch them all at once.

With all of these sports on television, it is almost impossible not to be subjected to a near constant barrage of commercials for testosterone replacement therapy drugs. These commercials tell men who are getting older and losing hair, gaining weight, feeling tired, suffering from mild depression and losing muscle tone (signs of normal male aging) their issues are really symptoms of having a low testosterone count. They can treat this “condition” by taking testosterone hormones, according to drug companies.

They have created a pretty compelling advertising campaign. What middle-aged man does not want to feel 20 years younger?

As it turns out, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved testosterone replacement therapy drugs to treat aging, but rather a very rare medical condition known as hypogonadism. Patients who suffer from hypogonadism have under-functioning glands and do not promote enough of the hormone.
Continue reading

May 12, 2015

A Look at Xarelto Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Xarelto, like Eliquis and Pradaxa, are members of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). While, technically, they are not a blood thinner like Coumadin (Warfarin), as they are closer to a class of medications known as statins, their respective makers hope they will go head-to-head with Warfarin and eventually replace it as the treatment of first resort for many patients.

Warfarin itself has a rather interesting history, as it was first discovered in relation to a disease that was killing cattle in the 1920s. After being created, it was then marketed as a rodenticide agent, and later used (unsuccessfully) by the United States Army as an experimental suicide agent. Eventually, it became used for its current purpose to treat atrial fibrillation patients.
Continue reading

May 9, 2015

Running With an Artificial Knee Implant

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While total knee replacement surgery is primarily done in older patients who have suffered years of arthritis, there is another group of patients who might be in need of an artificial knee joint. This group consists of younger athletes and those who may not even be athletes, but frequently engage in running activities such as races, marathons and triathlons.

For many of these people who are experiencing knee pain, there is a fear of going to a doctor. Their fear is based upon a belief their doctor will tell them they need a knee replacement, and after they get one, they will never be able to run again, because an artificial joint was not designed for repeated impact of regular running.

As discussed in a recent news article from the San Francisco Examiner, doctors who frequently work with patients who enjoyed running believe every year a patient can get out of their natural knee, the better. This does not mean dealing with pain until it becomes unbearable, but rather trying less invasive surgical techniques short of total knee replacement. Some of these techniques include arterial cartilage paste grafting and rebuilding a patient’s damaged meniscus or replacing it without replacing the entire knee joint. This is sometimes known as a reconstruction or partial knee replacement. Robotic surgical techniques can be used to perform a series of less invasive replacements of individual knee components. This is in contrast to the traditional advice, which is often to do nothing until the pain becomes too bad to handle after years of further deterioration.
Continue reading

May 6, 2015

A Look at Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston’s PBS affiliate, WGBH, recently featured a program showing what it is like to be in the operating room during a minimally invasive total hip replacement surgery. Traditional methods involved making a 12-inch incision along the side of a patient’s hip and dislocating the hip joint from the pelvis. This method, still used in patients over 60 and who have other health issues, requires patients to stay in the hospital for days or even weeks and undergo a slow and painful recovery process. The large incision also increases the risk patients will develop a serious infection following surgery.

With minimally invasive techniques, only a six-inch incision is needed at the top of a patient’s hip, and dislocation is not required in many cases. This means a patient can typically go home that same night and sleep in his or her own bed. This also means there will be less pain during recovery, less risk of an artificial hip failure, and less time away from work or one’s other daily routine.

The reason doctors are able to perform a minimally invasive total hip replacement surgery is though the use of modern technology. It all begins with surgeons and radiologists working together to take a CT scan of the patient’s pelvic area while he or she is in the operating room. Doctors then use a computer and the CT image to make a three dimensional virtual model of exactly how the operation will work. There is an electronic signaling device used to guide the surgeon while he or she is watching a monitor while the movements occur inside the patient.
Continue reading

May 2, 2015

Obesity and Knee Replacement Surgery

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many doctors tell overweight patients suffering from knee problems that being obese is a major contributing factor to their joint damage. This is the same information that doctors have been telling their patients for decades and should come as a surprise to nobody. However, many patients are already dealing with enough joint deterioration to need a total knee replacement procedure sooner rather than later.

A recent news article from U.S. News and World Report takes a closure look at this issue. One patient interviewed for the story was 60-years-old and was in need of a total knee replacement procedure. She was retired as a schoolteacher because her severe arthritis made it virtually impossible for her to do her job. She could not walk up and down the building’s three flights of stairs any longer. She had no cartilage left her in one knee by that point. She was experiencing bone on bone friction every time she walked.

She said she was always overweight since she was child. As an adult, she spent years trying to a find a surgeon who would be willing to perform a total knee replacement while she was obese. She was told to have bariatric surgery, lose weight, and come back for another consultation. She was not willing to have bariatric surgery, due to all of the dangers she had learned about the procedure.
Continue reading

April 29, 2015

Total Hip Replacement Surgery for Young Patients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we think of total hip replacement surgery, we typically think of older patients. Many times, a hip replacement is needed to treat years of pain caused by increasing osteoarthritis.

In some elderly patients, more commonly women, a fall can result in a broken hip, which is often treated with hip replacement surgery. However, hip replacement surgery is not only used on elderly Americans. Sometimes hip replacement surgery patients are much younger.

According to a recent news feature from Health Line, hip replacement surgery is commonly performed in young patients who suffer from juvenile arthritis. More specifically, physicians are using it to conditions known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is a form of arthritis that can occur at any age (most commonly young patients) and is caused by an autoimmune response. These conditions can be treated with a total hip replacement, as would be done with patients in their 60s and 70s. But the problem lies with the expected lifespan of the artificial hip implant.

Under normal conditions, including wear and tear from for ordinary use, an artificial hip implant, if designed properly, will last around ten years, though sometimes longer. When a patient is around 70 years of age, the lifespan of the hip is similar to the lifespan of the patient, so this does not present a significant problem. It is not as if a properly constructed artificial hip will simply fail all at once. Rather, years of wear will make it become loose and start to cause pain to the patient.
Continue reading

April 22, 2015

New Alternatives to Total Knee Replacement Surgery May Prevent Complications

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Each year, more Americans are choosing to undergo total knee replacement surgery than ever before. The surgery involves removing a patient’s deteriorated natural knee and replacing it with an artificial joint. The most common cause of knee problems leading to a total knee replacement is arthritis. Osteoarthritis affects millions of patients and typically gets worse as the patient gets older. The pain gets to a point where the patient can no longer stand it, and he or she elects to undergo a joint replacement procedure. There are other medical conditions that require a total knee replacement, such as sports injury or a serious accident, such as a fall.
Continue reading

April 14, 2015

Plaintiff Demands $4.5 Million in Xarelto Injury Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from the Madison Record, a woman in Texas is suing Bayer Pharmaceuticals AG, and its United States marketing partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson) for injuries she alleges was a result of her Xarelto prescription.

Xarelto is the brand name for a drug known as rivaroxaban. It is a member of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). Patients who suffer from various medical conditions including atrial fibrillation (Afib) require an anti-clotting agent. If blood clots form, they can block the flow of blood, causing strokes and other serious issues. If a clot forms and breaks loose, it can travel to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, where it can cause serious internal bleeding known as a pulmonary embolism or PE. Until the creation and FDA approval of NOACs, including Xarelto, Pradaxa, and Eliquis, the most commonly used medication was Warfarin, which is the generic form of Coumadin.

While Coumadin is effective in treating Afib patients, it does require very frequent blood tests to monitor dosage, and patients must also watch their diets closely, as certain foods can alter the rate at which Coumadin is absorbed. If the dosage is off, the patient can have serious consequences including bleeding disorders.
Continue reading

April 6, 2015

A Look at Knee Replacement Options

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from U.S. News and World Report, many patients have an option of choosing between partial knee replacement or total knee replacement, longevity or satisfaction, and standard or robotic-assisted surgery.

One patient interviewed for the article had knee replacement surgery on both his left and right knees. He is somewhat satisfied with the standard partial knee replacement he had around five years ago, and he is very happy with the computer-assisted/robotic partial knee replacement he had in his other knee around a month ago. He reports the second surgery had much a shorter and smoother recovery period.

While it should come as no surprise that medical technology involving hip replacement surgery has become more advanced in the past five years, this article demonstrates the vast number of decisions that must be made regarding this surgery.
Continue reading