Investigation: Medtronic paid millions to surgeons; ghostwrote papers

Over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MedPage Today, John Fauber updates Side Effects, his long-running investigation into conflicts of interest, with coverage of a Senate inquiry which Fauber’s work helped inspire. The Senate investigation, led by the familiar bipartisan duo of Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley (2,315-page PDF | press release), involved the review […]

Docs with Medtronic ties failed to disclose cancer case in trial report

In the latest installment of his ongoing investigation for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MedPage Today, John Fauber reports his discovery that physicians writing up a large-scale 2009 study “failed to identify a significant cancer risk” associated with Medtronic’s Amplify, a BMP-2 spine surgery product. At the same time, Fauber observes, Medtronic paid those same […]

Fauber finds ‘failed back surgery syndrome’ after off-label use of Medtronic’s Infuse

John Fauber follows up his previous investigations into the myriad problems and conflicts of interest surrounding Medtronic’s Infuse product with a story on the emerging national epidemic of what pain specialists are calling “failed back surgery syndrome.” One local pain specialist Fauber contacted said that a full 10 percent to 15 percent of his patients […]

Medtronic hires Yale researchers to review Infuse data

Medtronic, the manufacturer of spine fusion product Infuse, has hired Yale University researchers to review patient data and adverse event reports for the product. Photo by planetc1 via Flickr The review follows months of reporting by John Fauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Medpage Today that have raised questions about the independence of doctors […]

Top docs spar over Medtronic research, Iraq service

Following up on his work on the dangers of Medtronic’s Infuse spine fusion product and the conflicts of interest that appear to have facilitated its approval and adoption, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s John Fauber has the latest on high-profile sniping between two top orthopedic surgeons over the Spine Journal‘s recent Infuse issue devoted to the […]