St. Jude Defibrillation Leads Recall

The Wall Street Journal (8/27, Weaver, Subscription Publication) reports that patients who are dealing with the recent recall of heart devices from St. Jude Medical Inc. are also facing the potential problem of rising bills as a result of the recall. According to the Journal, physicians are increasingly removing the Riata defibrillation leads from patients due to safety concerns, but the procedure to have them taken out of a patient can be risky and expensive, for the victims of this safety problem.