Personal Injury Law

Additional Study shows Eye Risks Linked to Flomax

By Jessica Smagacz

A new Canadian study showed that with men taking Flomax to treat an enlarged prostate face, according to U.S. News & World Report, a more than double the risk for serious complications if they need cataract surgery.

Flomax has previously been linked to cataract complications. Several studies have been conducted on Flomax. One study, conducted in 2005, found that men taking Flomax or other alpha-blockers before they went through cataract surgery experienced complications during and immediately after the procedure took place.

After this study came out, FDA strove to impose stronger warnings about the drug. When FDA urged stronger warnings, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (makes Flomax) sent letters to doctors warning them about the potential problems.

In this new study, it compared men who took Flomax before surgery and those who have not taken Flomax before surgery.

These were the results: 7.5 percent of the men who took Flomax in the two weeks before cataract surgery had serious complications. Only 2.7 percent of those who did not take Flomax had serious complications, making it a 2.3 times greater risk if the men had taken Flomax before surgery.

Dr. Chaim M. Bell, a scientist at the Keenan Research Center at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto said, 'The problems were not found to the same extent among men taking other alpha-blockers. Patients that were prescribed tamsulosin had an over twofold increase in their risk of adverse events after cataract surgery.'

All of these findings can be found in the May 20^th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

People should know about the risks before going through with cataract surgery, especially if they are taking Flomax.

Full post as published by Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).