Trasylol: "It Shouldn't Have Happened"

Melbourne, FLCecilia F says that until she saw the 60 Minutes segment on Trasylol she had no idea what happened to her mother. Even now she is not positive that her mother was given Trasylol, but, "based on what happened, it certainly seems possible," she says. Like countless other patients, Cecilia's mother developed complications immediately after open heart surgery.

"My mom had a stent put in and she was supposed to be in the hospital for only two days," Cecilia says. "She went in on October 18, 2002 and when my brother went to pick her up on October 20, he was told that there was a complication and the doctors didn't know what the problem was.

"She was kept in the hospital for two weeks and the doctors gave two different explanations for what happened. One said that she developed some kind of infection and another doctor said that she had an allergy to a dye. After two weeks they released her from the hospital because they said she was better, but she said she still didn't feel well.

"The next day, she asked my brother to take her to the hospital because she was not feeling well. My brother rushed her to the emergency room at a different hospital and she was diagnosed her with renal failure. They kept here there for about a week and had her on dialysis.

"She was on dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life. She was also in and out of the hospital a few times. Then she had a stroke and after that her health went downhill. It was a spiral. She was in bad shape and didn't want to live anymore.

"She died about a year after her heart surgery. The death certificate said that the two causes of death were a vascular accident and renal failure.

"We never really understood what happened. My mom had some health problems, but she was full of life and it bothered us that the doctors at that first hospital did not agree about what really happened to my mother. When I saw the 60 Minutes episode I said, 'I wonder if that's what happened to mom.' I started reading about it and it looks like this might be what happened.

"I think people should at least be paid for their treatment if they were given Trasylol. The company should have to pay for its mistake. How can they use this drug knowing that it could cause such damage to a person? It shouldn't have happened. As soon as they got the notice that this drug was dangerous, they should have stopped this. Who knows how many people this happened to? They should be liable for that."

Like Cecilia, many other people who have had loved ones die unexpectedly after open heart surgery are investigating whether or not Trasylol was used during the surgery. If you suspect that someone you care about died because of the use of Trasylol, contact a lawyer who can determine whether you are eligible to join a class action lawsuit.