Group Wants Surgery Stories

A group in Washington wants to hear from people who have had metal plates and screws placed in their lower backs.

Citizens Against Pedicle Plates and Screws, a nonprofit outreach group in Carson, Wash., is collecting stories from people who have had the back surgery to share with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The hardware is used to stabilize spines and usually is a last-ditch attempt to correct spinal problems.

The FDA has not approved bone screws for use in the spine. However, it has not banned doctors from placing the screws anywhere in the body.

Over the weekend, The Spokesman-Review published a story about an Osburn, Idaho, man with complaints about his screw surgery.

Holly Swedeen is president of CAPPS, the outreach group.

“We can open a chapter in Spokane if there are enough people there who need it,” she said Monday.

Swedeen, 35, formed CAPPS after the screws in her back broke.

The group has chapters in Vancouver, Wash., and Portland.

The FDA estimates about 30,000 to 70,000 people have the surgery each year.

A Spokane orthopedic surgeon said the procedure is performed on about two people each month in the Inland Northwest.

The FDA lists CAPPS as the West Coast support group for people suffering from complications of pedicle plates and screws.

The FDA is currently investigating the procedure.

To reach the organization, call 509-427-5726.