Tissue banks : the dangers of tainted tissues and the need for federal regulation : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, May 14, 2003.

  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Date:
2003
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Tissue banks : the dangers of tainted tissues and the need for federal regulation : hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, May 14, 2003. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/126 (page 7)
    In September 2001, our son Brian had arthroscopic surgery to re- move a bone chip in his knee. It went very well. Afterwards, Dr. Mulawka, the surgeon, showed us pictures of Brian’s knee which revealed a quarter-size divot in the bone. He told us that Brian should have follow-up surgery in order to pre- vent future arthritis in his knee. He also explained that a piece of bone from a cadaver would be used in the procedure and told us about the effort and testing that went into ensuring the donated bone tissue would be clean and safe. It was supposed to be a rou- tine surgery, one that Brian could have lived a completely normal life without. In other words, it was strictly a preventative and elec- tive procedure. The recovery from the procedure was expected to take a little longer than the previous one, but no one expected any significant complications. On Wednesday, November 7, Brian had the follow-up surgery which went well. Dr. Mulawka told us that Brian would become a little sick from the medications and possibly experience more pain than the previous arthroscopic surgery, but otherwise the recovery should go well. After the operation, Brian was experiencing a lot of pain. He had a horrible headache, upset stomach, and felt like he was burning up. The nurses, however, said his temperature was normal. The doctor decided to keep him overnight for observation. Leslie and I drove home to Willmar for the night. We did not expect any com- plications so I left for work the next morning and was scheduled to work in Minneapolis for the 5 days. Ms. LYKINS. After Steve left, I drove to St. Cloud Hospital to pick Brian up. When I got there I found out that he was sick to his stomach and in excruciating pain. The pain pack the doctor had in- serted into his knee during the operation apparently was not work- ing. The purpose of the pain pack was to administer medication di- rectly to the knee to help control the pain. After Brian was released from the hospital I drove him to the St. Cloud Orthopedic Clinic where they removed the pain pack. Brian was originally scheduled to go to the doctor on Friday, the fol- lowing day, but the doctor thought that he could wait to see Brian until Monday morning. So instead we drove to my home in Willmar where Brian stayed with me overnight. Throughout the evening, Brian began to feel better. His knee was still sore and he felt warm at times, but otherwise he felt fine. On Friday morning, Brian woke up feeling much better. Of course his knee was still sore, which was to be expected. That afternoon he said he felt well enough to go home. At his home he rested, ate and drank a bit, used the exercise machine they had sent along, and occasionally iced his knee. His recovery was going exactly as we thought that it would. That evening we watched a movie together and he told me that he felt fine and if I wanted to go home I should, which I did. On Saturday, I had previous plans to be out of the house for most of the day so I was up early. Brian called me, told me that he felt fine, and asked some questions about when he was supposed to take his medication. He said his leg was still sore, but otherwise he felt fine. Then I went out, returned home at about 5 p.m. that night and called Brian. He told me he had been sick to his stomach