Legal Specs

Open Heart Surgery Leads to Kidney Failure

31 Dec 1969

Open heart surgery is done to relive chest pressure that occurs due to the blockage in the arteries cutting off the circulation of blood and oxygen. An open heart surgery refers to the chest being open not the actual heart. During an open heart surgery the amount of blood must be controlled so that the surgeons are able to do work on the heart. But at the same time oxygen and blood must be circulated to brain and lugs via a heart-lung machine. This machine is used to keep the body functioning properly while the heart is being worked. Open heart surgery can be classified further down with also being classified as a bypass surgery in which coronary arteries are taken from other place in the body to replace those that have either a blockage or hardening. Open heart surgeries are the most common surgery in the United States, yet is very invasive. Some of the side effects of an open heart surgery include muscle pain, constipation, swelling, pain at the site where the arteries were taken, infection, and fatigue.

When an open heart surgery is being performed, the amount of blood must be controlled. This calls for the use of an extraneous drug to be administered. A commonly used drug in recent years has been Trasylol. Manufactured by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Trasylol has been linked to over 20,000 cases causing kidney failure resulting in death. There has been much controversy from Trasylol due to its negative side effects and cost. Bayer Pharmaceuticals withheld information that would have prompted the FDA to recall the drug immediately. However, Bayer wrongly decided to not tell anyone about the side effects of Trasylol causing thousands of lives to be taken. The cost of Trasylol is also a big issue because for some reason it costs $1000 per dosage, as compared with other comparable drugs that sold for $50. The cost alone should probe officials to think that something shady was going on. However, Trasylol was still on the market till it was finally recalled in November of 2007.

Patients that had received open heart surgery in the past decade that are showing signs of kidney complications should seek medical treatment immediately. For most patients have no idea what brand of drug they were administered during their open heart surgery. Over 20,000 patients have died from kidney failure to due to use of Trasylol. Bayer pharmaceutical's decision to withhold their information about the drug has proven to be worst decision they have ever made.


Patients who have seen these ill effects should contact a Trasylol attorney, for they may be qualified to receive compensation. The types of compensation usually won in these types of situations are medical expenses, loss of wages, and emotional damages. If you or a loved one has had an open heart surgery that resulted in kidney failure, it is quite possible that it was attributed to the used of the drug Trasylol. Make sure that Bayer does not commit the same mistake it did regarding the information about Trasylol by contacting a Trasylol Lawyer today.




Paul Justice gives advice to clients who are looking for attorneys to handle personal injury related cases such as Open Heart Surgery.To know more about the services of trasylol lawyers, triple bypass surgery and open heart surgery visit www.trasylollawsuit.net