Take Two Kickbacks...
-Mother Jones
11/02/2009 - So your doctor says it's time to consider that hip replacement. Trouble is, more than a dozen firms make artificial hips, and there've been plenty of recalls—no small inconvenience when the recalled product resides in your pelvis. More>>>

Medical device firm flies in controversial surgeon
-TheAge
09/22/2009 - A CONTROVERSIAL American surgeon being investigated by the US Senate over his financial ties with medical device giant Medtronic was flown by the company to Australia to lecture doctors at a medical conference last month. More>>>

Medtronic payments to doctor-consultants controversy erupts Down Under
-StarTribune
09/14/2009 - The stateside controversy concerning Medtronic's payments to its doctor-consultants has erupted Down Under. Citing confidential documents, the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia reported last week that the Fridley-based medical technology giant devised a "secret marketing strategy" in 2007 to woo doctors' loyalty by paying fellowship grants. More>>>

Dr. David Polly Resigns From American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board
-DotMed
08/28/2009 - Under intense scrutiny for not revealing a relationship with Medtronic, Dr. David Polly, a well-known spine surgeon, has resigned from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board. More>>>

Surgeon accused of faking study resigns
-UPI
08/21/2009 - A surgeon accused of faking a study on a bone growth drug used to treat wounded Iraq war veterans has resigned from a St. Louis university, the school said. More>>>

Surgeon Tied to Bone Product Inquiry Resigns
-The New York Times
08/19/2009 - A former Army surgeon accused of falsifying a study on a bone growth product used on severely injured Iraq war veterans has resigned his teaching position at Washington University in St. Louis, a spokeswoman said Tuesday night. The surgeon, Dr. Timothy R. Kuklo, 48, was placed on leave earlier this year while the university investigated charges against him. Medtronic, a maker of the bone growth product Infuse, also suspended his consulting contract. The company paid him nearly $800,000 the last few years. More>>>

U of M surgeon's ties to Medtronic under scrutiny|
-MPR News
07/31/2009 - A University of Minnesota spine surgeon is now part of a larger look into the financial relationship between doctors and private medical companies. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is asking the U of M for information on Dr. David Polly, a surgeon who was paid more than $1 million in consulting fees by medical device maker Medtronic, which is based in Fridley. More>>>

U surgeon's deals with Medtronic draw fire
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa also is scrutinizing whether the University of Minnesota adequately oversees potential conflicts of interest.
-StarTribune
07/29/2009 - A top spine surgeon at the University of Minnesota who has reaped more than $1 million consulting for Medtronic Inc. is facing tough questions from a prominent U.S. senator investigating financial conflicts in medicine. More>>>

Kuklo-Medtronic timeline gets messier with new details
-MinnPost
07/16/2009 - The Dr. Kuklo-Medtronic timeline got a little messier last night with new disclosures reported by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Dr. Timothy Kuklo, a former military surgeon, is under fire for allegedly falsifying data in a study of Medtronic's bone-growth product Infuse. More>>>

Problems for Infuse in study
-New York Times
07/01/2009 - Patients who received a bioengineered protein during spinal fusion procedures to correct neck pain had far more complications than patients who did not get it, according to a study released Tuesday. More>>>

Medtronic Gets Subpoena Regarding Disputed Study
-New York Times
06/24/2009 - Medtronic disclosed on Tuesday that it had received a Justice Department subpoena seeking information about its ties with a company consultant, a former Army doctor accused of falsifying a favorable medical journal article about a Medtronic bone growth product called Infuse. More>>>

$788,000 Paid to Doctor Accused of Faking Study
-TheNewYorkTimes
06/20/2009 - Medtronic said on Wednesday that it had paid nearly $800,000 over an eight-year period to a former military surgeon who has been accused by the Army of falsifying a medical journal study involving one of the company’s products. More>>>

Medtronic Paid Surgeon While He Was in the Army
-TheNewYorkTimes
06/13/2009 - Medtronic has acknowledged that it paid a former Army surgeon, who is now accused of falsifying research about one of its products, to give speeches and train other doctors on the company’s behalf while he was in the military. More>>>

Discredited Research Study Stuns an Ex-Army Doctor’s Colleagues
-The New York Times
06/06/2009 - Dr. Romney C. Andersen, a Walter Reed Army Medical Center surgeon, was surprised last summer when his neighbor, a fellow doctor, congratulated him on a new medical journal study bearing his name. Dr. Timothy R. Kuklo and copies of the signatures of other Army doctors on his study that authorities say he forged. “What study?” Dr. Andersen asked. More>>>

Various Infuse Bone Graft Lawsuits Filed against Medtronic Inc.
-TransWorldNews
03/03/2009- Medtronic Inc, one of the world’s largest medical technology companies, has recently been targeted in various lawsuits related to its Infuse Bone Graft, a medical device designed to stimulate bone growth. More>>>

Spine Doctors Mandated to Disclose Financial Ties to Industry
-NewsInferno
01/27/2009- Some doctors will be required to disclose their financial ties to medical device companies as well as the dollar amounts associated with those relationships, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. More>>>

Patients Need To Be Aware of Medtronic Infuse Use In The Neck
-InjuryBoard
01/18/2009- Medtronic is facing more trouble over its Infuse Bone Graft. A Texas woman is reportedly preparing a lawsuit blaming off-label use of Infuse for injuries she suffered after cervical spine surgery. Mary Selke claims that bone formed in her neck and it made it difficult for her to breathe and swallow resulting in more surgery, this time of an emergency nature. More>>>

Medtronic Infuse Bone Substitute Used Off-Label 17% of Time
-AboutLawsuits
01/13/2009- Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have suggested that more than 1 in 6 surgeries in which the Medtronic Infuse bone substitute is implanted involve off-label use, for which the bone graft is not approved and which has been associated with an increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening complications. More>>>

Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft to be Named in Another Lawsuit
-NewsInferno
01/07/2009- Medtronic could be facing more trouble over its Infuse Bone Graft product. According to a report on the website “Finance and Commerce”, a Texas woman is preparing to file a lawsuit that blames off-label use of Infuse for injuries she suffered after cervical spine surgery. More>>>

Medtronic Bone Graft Death to be Reported to FDA Following Lawsuit
-AboutLawsuits
12/16/2008- The Wall Street Journal reports that Medtronic, Inc. is notifying the FDA about the August death of Shirley Nisbet, whose family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the medical device manufacturer earlier this month alleging that fatal complications following her cervical spine fusion were caused by the Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft. More>>>

Spinal Tap: Medtronic And A Patient Death
-Pharmalot
12/15/2008- The device maker was unaware for more than three months that a patient who underwent spinal surgery with one of its products had died, and will now report the episode to the FDA, The Wall Street Journal reports. More>>>

Medtronic Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Infuse Bone Graft Problems
-AboutLawsuits
12/13/2008- A class action lawsuit has been filed against Medtronic, Inc. on behalf of shareholders, alleging that the company made false and misleading statements that failed to disclose their Infuse Bone Graft problems and the extent to which sales of the bone stimulator were dependent on “off-label” uses the company was promoting, which have been associated with a number of serious and life-threatening complications. More>>>

Medtronic to Tell FDA About Patient's Death
-WSJ
12/12/2008- Medtronic Inc. said it was unaware for more than three months that a patient who underwent spinal surgery with one of its products had died, and the company is now moving to report the death to the Food and Drug Administration. More>>>

Medtronic sued over off-label use
-MinneapolisStarTribune
12/04/2008- The family of a California woman who died after neck surgery has filed a lawsuit against Fridley-based Medtronic Inc., claiming the company's controversial bone-growth product caused her death. More>>>

Medtronic Is Sued Over Bone Product
-WSJ
12/03/2008- The family of a California woman who went into respiratory arrest and died after neck surgery filed a lawsuit blaming her death on the use of a fast-selling bone-growth protein made by Medtronic Inc. More >>>

Justice Department Probing Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft Marketing
-AboutLawsuits
12/03/2008- The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the actions of Medtronic, Inc., and whether they actively promoted and marketed their Infuse bone graft for un-approved uses. When the spinal bone growth implant is used for off-label, such as during cervical spine fusions, it has been associated with a number of serious and potentially life-threatening complications. More >>>