May 4, 2015 3 min read

The Pittsburgh VA medical center was allegedly using potentially defective devices for years and did not inform veterans, according to a newly released report from the Office of the Inspector General.

The report was one of almost 140 released on oversight and mistreatment at VA facilities nationwide conducted by the department’s investigative office.

Other recently released inspector general reports included a veteran whose face was accidentally set on fire at Lebanon VA Medical Center during surgery, and a patient in San Diego who went to the VA medical center with chest pains. He was diagnosed with acid reflux and discharged, then died the next day of a heart attack.

U.S. Army veteran Randy Danser of Houston said any time he hears news about the Department of Veterans Affairs, it is something negative.

“All these vets are giving up their service for their country and getting this disservice back,” he said. “It’s a shame.”

Along with many other Washington County veterans, he goes to the Pittsburgh VA medical center for care. There, 31 veterans had devices surgically implanted with a potentially defective device between 1999 and 2003, according to the report.

The device is used to correct aortic aneurisms. Two of the 31 patients developed endoleaks, or blood flow into the aneurism sac. The two patients required surgery, removal of the device and repair.

The potentially defective portion was used in the implantation process. Because no problems occurred during surgery and defective portions do not remain in the patient’s body, the medical center opted not to inform patients about the problem once it was discovered, according to VA spokesman Donald Manuszewski.

“There were no events related to their deployment. It didn’t really have anything to do with the stent itself,” he said. “And we vetted the decision with the VA Central Office and they concurred.”

The Food and Drug Administration recommended patients who received the stent continue with routine monitoring and follow-up visits, the report said.

Among all the devices sold and implanted, including at private facilities, unreported incidents included 12 deaths and 57 emergency operations. This resulted in a $92.4 million settlement in which the company that manufactured the devices, Endovascular Technologies of Melo Park, Calif., pleaded guilty to misbranding medical devices and making false statements to the FDA.

The company provided a patient education sample letter for distribution, but the medical center did not send it.

Withheld information was common among the 140 reports. In most cases, medical centers were entrusted to make corrections on their own rather than making the information public.

Despite the influx of oversight reports, Danser said he thinks it is a positive step that the reports are now public.

“At least they’re recognizing the problems now and trying to take action on it,” he said.