Surviving the Surgery for One Illnesss Only to Die of Another From Contaminated Products Used

In this 23 November 2023 news report, the family of Anaheim, California, teacher Lori Peterson Owen sounds the alarm on cadaver bone material used in surgeries. KCAL News anchor Rudabeh Shahbazi reports.

The company distributing the bone product has since rebranded itself, and remains a large supplier in the medical industry. This was not the first time they supplied contaminated cadaver bone material which caused individuals to die.

https://youtu.be/iBMr79DLIE8

Transcript

The original surgery was done at the Hope Institute in Irvine. The nine hour surgery was to correct Scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine. The actual surgery was a success and her healing went very well. About six weeks after the surgery, she suffered a terrrible headache, the worst she had ever experienced, and went to the ER. Unable to hold her head up, she simply curled up on a bench in the waiting room. Whle her vital signs were stable, the headache continued and the overhead lights were making things worse. Instead of admitting her, the ER allow the family to take her back home since it was the weekend. But six days later, she started acting strange, not able to say her own name. The family called 911 and the responding ambulance rushed her to UC-Irvine Medical Center, the family close behind. Lori was immediately placed on life support machines, soon falling into a coma from which she never recovered.

The CDC reported a contaminated batch of cadver bone material was sent to 13 Surgery and dental clinics in seven states. At least two patients who received the bone material have died this year (2023), with dozens more undergoing treatment. A full recall of the contaminated product has been issued.

This is not the first time an event like this has happened. In 2021, a similar outbreak involving a different bone repair product from the same manufacturer killed eight and infected close to one hundred others. How could this happen again with the same company? Why? 

In the 2020-2021 outbreak, the infected cadaver source turned out to be an 80-year old man who had travel extensively furing his life. No information has been shared about the cadaver source and history in this latest incident. 

The manufacturer/company involved states the cadaver bone material was tested for contaminates including the Tuberculosis (TB) bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis).. The test results were negative. Lori Peterson Owen died from Tubercular Meningitis caused by the cadaver bone material she received during surgery.

It should be noted that United States Federal regulations do not require bone and tissue donors to be tested for TB or TB risk factors…