Having surgery? Check the company!

According to a recent article in Wall Street Journal, Stryker Corp., a medical device company, violated the FDA's manufacturing rules. The hip implant and implant components that they produce were subject to numerous complaints over a period of two years (2005-2007).

What does this mean for you? If you are considering any kind of surgery, now you not only have to very carefully choose and research the utility of the surgery and the competency of the surgeon (which is a monstrous task in and of itself), but you also have find out what company makes the implants you will be receiving and if they have run into any trouble such as above.

In a related article, the WSJ discussed that many surgeons have financial connections to the companies they use for medical devices. Once again, dear patient, it is on your shoulders (healthy or otherwise) to make sure everything is as legitimate as possible when going down this road.