Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 26, 1994                 TAG: 9407260281
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER 
                                   LENGTH: Long  :  106 lines

CONTRACEPTIVE COMPLAINT 4 JOIN SUIT AGAINST NORPLANT SIDE EFFECTS, REMOVAL TROUBLE ALLEGED

   The long-lasting Norplant contraceptive seemed ideal to Heather Williams, 
until she tried to get rid of it.
   Three surgeries and three months later, the Suffolk woman has joined a 
class action lawsuit against the maker of the five-year contraceptive, 
claiming that the six matchstick-size implants caused major side effects and 
were difficult to remove. At least five Virginia women - four in Hampton Roads
- have joined the lawsuit.
   Across the country, at least 700 women have called the Chicago law firm 
handling the suit since it became a class action in June. They complain of 
side effects not listed in the information sheet from manufacturer 
Wyeth-Aherst Laboratories, and tell horror stories about the contraceptive's 
removal, said Corey S. Berman of the law firm Holstein, Mack and Klein.
   ``We've had everything from nerve and muscle damage to miscarriages to the 
movement of the capsules in the arm,'' Berman said. ``The biggest problem was 
that Wyeth just was not upfront with these women about the effects of Norplant
in areas other than pure contraception. They glossed over or didn't say 
anything about problems with removal or some of the substantially harmful side
effects the contraceptive would have. Women basically went in blindfolded.''
   But many doctors contend that any problem with removal is caused by 
improper insertion in the first place.
   Williams, of Suffolk, said that her doctor put the capsules inside her 
elbow, lower than the implants should be. One bent in her arm, she said.
   Her doctor, she said, initially didn't want to take it out, despite her 
complaints of side effects such as weight gain, acne, mood swings and constant
menstrual bleeding.
   Kerry Iturbe of Norfolk had Norplant for eight months, three months longer 
than she wanted it. She had it implanted in North Carolina; then her military 
family moved to Virginia.
   ``Nobody wanted to touch it; nobody wanted to take it out. They said you 
have to go back to the original place,'' Iturbe said. ``It took me a good 
three months of trying, and then I ended up going back to North Carolina to 
have it removed.
   ``He had problems right away. He said there was a lot of fibrous tissue 
that was around it. By the time I thought he'd removed all the tubes, he said,
`OK, that's the first one,' '' Iturbe said.
   Monique Ayers of Virginia Beach also complained of side effects and a 
painful removal. ``It was awful,'' she said. ``I bled about a whole year. When
I got it out it hurt so bad I actually cried.''
   Ayers had Norplant removed last September, 11 months after it was inserted.
``It's still tender to the touch,'' she said. ``That was just an ungodly 
procedure. It was painful.''
   Ayers and Iturbe have also joined the lawsuit. 
   In a statement released by Wyeth, Marc W. Deitch, medical director and vice
president, medical affairs, said: ``We continue to believe that class action 
litigation is inappropriate because Norplant removal is an individual 
procedure that is affected by a number of variables. These variables include 
how the capsules were originally inserted, the procedure used for removal and 
circumstances that are unique to a given patient.''
   The company statement says that Norplant removal requires a ``minor, 
in-office surgical procedure using a local anesthetic.''
   Part of the problem may lie in the fact that Norplant lasts for five years 
but has been on the U.S. market for only three years, and doctors have little 
experience in removing it.
   Properly inserted, Norplant can be removed in 10 minutes, said Dr. Willette
LeHew, a Norfolk obstetrician and gynecologist. ``I've never had but one 
patient complain. One of the implants was put in too deeply.''
   ``I must say, though, I think the people teaching Norplant have spent a lot
more time teaching people to insert it and very little time teaching people to
remove it,'' he said.
   Still, LeHew said, Norplant is ideal for women who are not motivated to 
take a daily pill or to use other methods of birth control. ``It really can 
have an impact on the tremendous problem we have with unwanted and unintended 
pregnancies we have today,'' he said.
   ``I think, personally, it's a bum rap,'' said Dr. William C. Andrews of 
Norfolk, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
``They (Wyeth) went to more trouble than I can remember in 40 years I've been 
doing gynecology to train people.''
   The company has trained more than 28,000 doctors to use Norplant, the Wyeth
statement said.
   Doctors who have trouble removing the implant may be working at it for too 
long, said Dr. Peter Kemp, who works with Planned Parenthood. ``If you don't 
have all the implants out within 30 minutes, you should stop,'' he said. ``If 
you keep going, all you get is swelling of the tissue.''
   Iturbe said she is telling her friends not to use Norplant. ``It seemed 
like a godsend, a five-year birth control,'' she said. ``I had it in my arm 
for eight months.
   ``I think eight months was a long enough experience.''


ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
          BILL TIERNAN/Staff
          A red mark remains near Heather Williams' elbow after she had the 
          Norplant contraceptive removed.
          
          
          Graphic
             Photo
             How it works:
             Six Norplant capsules are inserted into a woman's arm. The 
          implant then is supposed to prevent pregnancy for five years.
          

 by CNB