BF&W Mass Torts Information

Polygrip Denture Cream

2012-01-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Polygrip Denture Cream’s manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, is under investigation for failing to inform users of this product’s potential safety risks. Polygrip Denture Cream contains 38 milligrams of zinc per ounce. Health experts recommend 8 milligrams of zinc per day for women and 11 milligrams for men. Medical studies have found excessive zinc may purge the body of copper, a chemical needed for normal brain and nervous system function. GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it will stop making Polygrip formulas containing zinc. Common side effects related to this product’s health risk include: loss of balance, loss of sensation in hands and feet and anemia. If you have any questions regarding your or a family member’s health and the use of Polygrip, please contact Knox Boteler at 866-975-7766 or email him at knox@bfw-lawyers.com for additional information. To learn more about this situation, click here.

Surgical Mesh Dangers for Transvaginal Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery Patients

2011-10-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

Surgical Mesh: Manufactured by numerous companies including, Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific Corp.

Used for: Surgical repairs for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and/or Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) surgery. Used in place of stitches surgical mesh is designed to be a permanent implant and has been commonly used in transvaginal POP and SUI surgeries for many years. In POP procedures the mesh is commonly called a “bladder sling.”

Symptoms or Consequences: In July 2011, the FDA announced that a multi-year study of surgical mesh implants found serious complications associated with surgical mesh for POP and SUI procedures. The FDA report also noted, “[f]urthermore it is not clear that transvaginal POP repair with mesh is more effective than traditional non-mesh repair in all patients with POP and it may expose patients to greater risk.” Erosion of the mesh through the vagina is the most common and consistently reported complication. Mesh contraction is also a risk. Both mesh erosion and mesh contraction can cause severe pelvic pain, painful sexual intercourse. Other symptoms may include: Bladder, bowel, or blood vessel bleeding or perforation, bone and hip infections and/or the recurrence of the POP and/or SUI condition.

Additional Information: For more information visit Providence Health Plan

Contact: If you believe you or a loved one may have a claim related to the use of surgical mesh in a POP and/or SUI procedure, please contact Knox at Boteler, Finley & Wolfe (knox@bfw-lawyers.com) for more information and help locating the law firm leading these Mass Tort cases.

Actos linked to Bladder Cancer

2011-10-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Actos: Manufactured by: Takeda

Prescribed for: Actos (pioglitazone) is used in the treatment of diabetes. Actos is used to control blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes, which keeps the body from producing enough insulin to properly use the sugar in the blood stream. Type 2 diabetes can also cause the patient to become resistant to insulin. Actos remedies this problem by making cells more sensitive to insulin, thereby making it easier for sugar to pass through the body.

Symptoms or Consequence: May cause bladder cancer. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a warning be added to Actos packaging in 2007. A second FDA warning in June 2011 contained specific details of the risk of bladder cancer associated with Actos. A recent study of 193,099 patients over a five-year period found that people who took Actos for at least 12 months or longer were 40 percent more likely to develop bladder cancer. A subsequent FDA Adverse Event report found that Actos was involved in one-fifth of all reported diagnoses of bladder cancer in diabetes drug users.
Additional Information: Read more on this matter at Web MD, and the June 15, 2011 FDA report.

Contact: If you believe you or a loved one may have a claim related to the use of Actos and a diagnosis of bladder cancer, please contact Knox at Boteler, Finley & Wolfe (knox@bfw-lawyers.com) for more information and help locating the law firm leading these Mass Tort cases.