What do mandarins, the toxic chemical organotin, the contraceptive implant Essure, and the European CE mark have in common?

The answer is a deeply disturbing look into how medical devices are approved—and how that failure harms patients worldwide.

Two of them were briefly approved with a CE safety rating; one is a contraceptive device; and one is… a mandarin net bag_¹.

Yes, you read that correctly. Those flimsy mesh bags that hold your fruit were successfully approved as a gynaecological device by a group of reporters testing the robustness of the medical safety approval process

Organotin is a serious neurotoxin, and a byproduct of Essure; and a CE mark indicates a product has met health, safety and environmental requirements for a product to be sold in the European Economic Area, known as the EU.

Suffice it to say, changes were eventually made to the CE system. But if other medical debacles are anything to go by, it’s still early days for true accountability in the medical world.

The Cost of Silence and Arrogance

A severe lack of shared information, especially relating to medical harm, leaves millions globally to suffer at the whim of uninformed medical practitioners.

The issue isn’t always a lack of data; it’s a lack of will to look, a lack of the ability to listen to patient concerns, and often, an arrogant, toxic, “Doctor knows best” attitude.

When neither patients nor doctors know the real risks, how can anyone expect to recover from harm that is misunderstood and consistently overlooked?

Essure and the Hidden Poison

Consider organotin. This is a potent neurotoxin that can cause neurological damage and even death. It is a known degradation product of the Essure micro-inserts.

In New Zealand, the chances of being generally exposed to this substance are virtually zero. Therefore, its presence in a patient who received the Essure device is of serious concern and must be tested for.

This is just one of many catastrophic failures by the health system concerning women who received this implant. The fact that the presence of a known neurotoxin is not actively monitored or tested for in women with Essure should alarm anyone receiving a medical implant.There is a severe lack of knowledge regarding the systemic repercussions on the patient, and thus, medical harm continues unabated.

The Cycle of Failure and Gaslighting

The gaslighting surrounding this device has been relentless. Yet, it is painfully clear to those suffering catastrophic side effects—and the families who witness their decline—that medicine has failed at every step.

When the core principle of “First, do no harm” consistently fails those experiencing medical harm, it fails everyone. You never know when you or a loved one will become the next victim of what can only be called, at a minimum, gross medical misadventure, if not systemic medical abuse. This is an abuse that has been allowed to continue quietly, behind the scenes, minimised, and ignored.

This simply cannot be allowed to continue as a matter of standard care.

It is long overdue that those who promulgate harm to patients are held accountable for their actions. If honesty is absent from medicine, how can anyone simply trust the medical profession? It is painfully clear to many that you cannot, and should not, blindly trust a profession that fails so many, so often.

Think about this: When did you agree to be a human. experiment for the medical fraternity? Most often, you haven’t. You have simply become yet another unwilling participant in an un-ethically conducted human experiment.

When something so dangerous is unleashed on the population, ethics, morals, and care go straight out the window.

The Path to Accountability

Women with neurological or immunological conditions following implantation with Essure are desperate for answers, desperate for care, and despair at the slow-to-zero recovery following the device’s explantation.

Furthermore, safe removal often necessitates additional body mutilation, such as a hysterectomy. This has its own set of life-altering consequences—consequences that women who chose a “non-surgical” procedure for permanent contraception never asked for.

This nightmare highlights the urgent need for:

1. International Databasing: A central, global registry of all medically implanted products providing open access to all studies and adverse event data for medical professionals.

2. Mandatory Transparency: This would help prevent manufacturers and implanting surgeons from keeping injury data and side effects a secret.

In 2017, implanting surgeons in New Zealand were asked to monitor Essure recipients. To date, they have kept quiet, gaslighted those who raised concerns, and ducked for cover when called out.

This cannot be allowed to happen again in New Zealand, or anywhere else. Patients deserve better than to be left to the whims of the wilfully ignorant, uneducated opinions of those who quite clearly know nothing.

What do you think? Has your trust in the medical profession been shaken by experiences with implants or other medical devices? I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments.

¹ https://www.insa-lyon.fr/fr/actualities/gynecologie-toxicite-implants-essure-desormais-prouvee