We've all heard the joke about the guy with the plastic hip replacement who stood next to the fire to keep warm and ended up having his hip melted, right?
Seems trivial in comparison to recent news that has surfaced on BBC Newsnight.
The investigation found that ions can seep into the surrounding tissue to destroy muscle and bone and spread to the lymph nodes, spleen, liver and kidneys, potentially causing damage. Furthermore, the researchers also had concerns that the ions could affect chromosomes, ultimately resulting in genetic changes.
According to a 2005 internal memo from implant manufacturer DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency [MHRA], appointed a committee in 2006 that found that patients should be told about the risks. That alert came 4 years later! [1]
Ringing any bells?
Kent Woods, the MHRA's Chief Executive, nonchalantly dismissed questions posed to him on Newsnight by Jeremy Paxman. When asked by Paxman if the MHRA wanted to apologise to all those people for whom the operations went wrong, answered, "I think the agency has acted with great thoroughness in recent years. We have a situation in the UK where we were essentially concerned about the patterns of wear these joints, which had been very widely used, [500,000 metal on metal joints]. We were the first agency to put out a safety notice."
So, no apology then Kent?
Take his answer and compare it with what MHRA Chairman, Alasdair Breckenridge, said in a BBC interview back in 2004 about Seroxat.
Breckenridge was grilled by BBC journalist Shelley Jofre and asked whether two years was an acceptable delay in relaying information about the suicide link in Seroxat. She asked him what the MHRA had to say to those children exposed to a harmful drug and also their parents.
Breckenridge answered:
"When we received the information we acted with great rapidity...", he added, "When information like this comes in it is investigated, firstly we investigate individual reports.
So, no apology then Alasdair?
The MHRA had been accused of sitting on information by former Chief Executive of MIND, Richard Brook. Upon learning this, Brook was told by the MHRA not to go public with it.
Compare the two statements and you'll probably find that these have been carefully drawn up by lawyers.
Woods on hip replacements 2012 - "I think the agency has acted with great thoroughness in recent years."
Breckenridge on Seroxat 2004 - "When we received the information we acted with great rapidity..."
The MHRA's failure to get information out to the public regarding metal hip replacements can be read here, there are also two videos to watch, including Paxman's grilling of Kent Woods.
The MHRA's corporate statement is, "We enhance and safeguard the health of the public by ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe."
Pinocchio is a novice by comparison.
[1] Metals from hip replacements present toxic risk for millions, investigation warns [CBS News]
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