We place immense trust in the medical field, entrusting them with our very lives. After all, they hold the keys to relieving our pain and healing our ailments, fostering a sense of reliance. However, the medical industry is ultimately managed by humans, and as we know, humans are prone to errors. In the worst-case scenarios, some individuals may not prioritize the public’s best interests. Whether intentional or due to negligence, these slip-ups can lead to significant scandals.
Here’s a list of 10 of the craziest medical scandals ever.
Thalidomide
Thalidomide was initially developed in Germany in 1954 and marketed as a sedative and treatment for morning sickness in pregnant women, colds, flu, and nausea. However, it was during pregnancies that the drug caused the most significant harm. Animal testing revealed that administering a lethal dose was virtually impossible, leading to its approval for human use.
The first affected baby was born in Germany on Christmas Day in 1956, displaying shocking disabilities, including shortened or absent limbs, malformed hands and ears, underdeveloped eyes, sensory impairment, and brain damage. The list went on and on.
For five years, babies were affected before the connection between pregnant women taking the drug and the impact on their unborn children was established. An estimated 100,000 babies were affected by the drug. [1]
Atherectomy for Peripheral Artery Disease
Changes in government compensation for atherectomies created incentives for private practitioners to perform outpatient procedures to alleviate hospital system pressures. This set a low bar for treating arterial blockages, leading to a surge in patients.
From 2017 to 2021, approximately $1.4 billion in Medicare atherectomy payments, about half of all payments for the procedure, went to around 200 providers performing high-volume procedures.
Consequently, risky artery surgeries led to preventable amputations that could have been avoided with cheaper, equally effective treatments. Researchers and doctors revealed excessive and inappropriate use of the procedure, resulting in subsequent lawsuits. [2]
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
Government agencies can sometimes go too far in their experiments. In 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service, while trying to understand syphilis, conducted an experiment in Tuskegee, Alabama, to study the disease’s progression.
Nearly 600 African American men were recruited under the guise of receiving free medical care. Among them, 399 had latent syphilis and were told they had “bad blood,” while the other 201 formed the control group.
The men with syphilis received no effective care to understand the disease’s progression. As a result, they suffered blindness, insanity, various ailments, and eventually death. In the end, 128 men died, 40 wives were infected, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis. [3]
Soothing Syrup
Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup hit the market promising to soothe children, clean their teeth, freshen their breath, and relieve constipation. The secret ingredient? Morphine. In the 19th century, each bottle contained near-fatal amounts of morphine and alcohol. Unsurprisingly, it worked like a charm.
Morphine, even in small doses, can cause infant deaths. Some infants who consumed the syrup simply never woke up, causing public outrage. The outcry over poisoning and contaminated foods led to the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. However, the product wasn’t formally removed from shelves until the 1930s. [4]
Organ Racket
We’ve all heard the urban legend: a night out, blacking out, and waking up in an ice-filled bath with a note saying your kidneys were removed. In 2008, a disturbing organ trafficking operation came to light.
Over nearly nine years, an estimated 400 to 500 kidney transplants were performed after victims were lured with job opportunities and then coerced into giving up their organs. The victims were primarily poor laborers from villages near Delhi. Those who resisted were drugged, and their kidneys were taken against their will.
The scheme unraveled after the arrest of five individuals, including two from the U.S. and three from Greece, at a luxury guesthouse in Gurgaon, India, operated by a doctor running the illicit business. [5]
Asthma Cigarettes
Today, we know cigarettes cause lung disease and cancer. It’s strange to imagine when this wasn’t common knowledge. In the early 20th century, ignorance about the effects of bad habits on our bodies was widespread. Smoking is a perfect example.
When smoking became popular, it was also prescribed as a treatment for respiratory illnesses like asthma. Page’s Inhalers were medically prescribed cigarettes meant for temporary relief from asthma, hay fever, and nasal irritation. [6]
Defective Silicone
You can’t just melt down a crankshaft from an old car and mold it into a bracket for hip replacement surgery. Similarly, you can’t use just anything to make silicone breast implants. However, that’s exactly what the French company Poly Implants Prothèse (PIP) did.
The implants were pulled from the market in 2010 after it was revealed that the silicone was low-grade, causing a high risk of rupture. Additionally, the non-medical grade silicone was contaminated with high levels of cyclic siloxanes, leading to investigations into possible toxicological consequences.
In France, an estimated 30,000 women received these implants. An inquiry found the former owner, Jean-Claude Mas, guilty of aggravated fraud. He received a four-year prison sentence and a €75,000 fine. [7]
Cancer Injections
Chester Southam proposed a continuation of his long-standing cancer study, which seemed reasonable at first. However, Southam told patients they would receive human cells in growing tubes without proper informed consent.
The scandal came to light after three of his colleagues refused to participate in the study and resigned. Southam was accused of injecting liver cancer cells into patients at a hospital known for treating the elderly and those needing physical care, solely to further his cancer research.
In the end, 22 patients were injected with cancer cells. While Southam was never prosecuted, he was placed on probation for one year. Interestingly, Southam later became president of the American Association for Cancer Research. [8]
HIV Blood
Hemophiliacs risk fatal blood loss even from minor cuts, requiring copious amounts of blood. A leaked tape revealed Akihito Matsumura and his colleagues discussing the use of non-heat-treated blood products, exposing a major scandal.
The government and the Red Cross failed to stop using these products, leading to over 1,800 hemophiliacs contracting HIV from contaminated blood in the 1980s, with 400 later dying from AIDS.
The technology to treat the blood existed, but discarding the untreated inventory meant financial loss. Years later, three top executives pleaded guilty and received prison sentences ranging from 16 months to two years. [9]
Monster Stuttering Study
The theory was simple: drawing attention to a child’s normal hesitations could cause stuttering. Researchers at the University of Iowa tested this by placing normally fluent orphans in a controlled environment.
For six months, the orphans were shouted at, belittled, and threatened to test if such conditions could induce stuttering. The study concluded that asking a child to be more fluent could indeed lead to stuttering.
The children suffered severe long-term psychological harm and were awarded a settlement to avoid litigation, though neither the university nor the government admitted wrongdoing. [10]
These medical scandals serve as stark reminders of the importance of ethics, oversight, and accountability in the medical field. From dangerous drugs to unethical experiments, these incidents have had devastating consequences for countless individuals.
What are your thoughts on these shocking medical scandals? Leave your comment below!
