Netflix has unleashed a blistering indictment of the medical device industry, the FDA and doctors who accept money from medtech in its new documentary, ‘The Bleeding Edge,’ released today.
The film depicts people who have suffered injuries and/or illnesses following placement of Bayer’s Essure sterilization device, Johnson & Johnson’s vaginal mesh, various manufacturers’ metal artificial hips, and women whose surgeons used Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic arm to perform hysterectomies. It focuses on the efforts of women who had Essure implants to get the device off the market through Facebook groups, picketing of medtech conferences, and one-on-one conversations with physicians and lobbying members of Congress.
Facebook group founder Angie Firmalino recounts her experience following removal of Essure. “Blood exploded out of me,” she says. “It looked like a horror scene.”