Tom Kean Calls on Corzine to Seek Out Potential Victims of Federal Medical Device Scandal

Senator Republican Leader Tom Kean, a member of the Senate Health Committee, called on Governor Corzine to order that Health Commissioner Heather Howard immediately seek out any New Jersey residents who may have received the Menaflex knee implant.

"The widely reported allegations that this device is unsafe for patients are shocking and demand an immediate public health response from the governor," Kean said. "New Jersey residents may be suffering, and, if so, we need to help."

News reports indicate that the Federal Drug Administration has complained that U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg and U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone and Steven Rothman, all New Jersey Democrats, applied "extreme" pressure to force the agency to approve the Menaflex knee implant. News reports say that FDA scientists had repeatedly rejected the implant as unsafe because it often failed, forcing painful new surgery. Studies showed that the device didn't work better than routine surgery, news reports say. Thirty patients in the U.S. and more than 3, 000 in Europe have been implanted with the device, the New York Times reported.

"If these allegations are true, then it is very important that New Jersey find and aid any state patients victimized by political failures," Kean said. "Governor Corzine should order the health commissioner to start her inquiry today."

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