A California spine surgeon who leads a medical ethics organization has written to the Army Surgeon General raising questions about a 2002 Army study that used Medtronic spine products on soldiers in ways not approved by federal regulators. One of the physicians leading the study at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was David Polly, MD, now chief of the spine unit at the University of Minnesota's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Although Polly was not a Medtronic consultant while at Walter Reed, his subsequent relationship with the medical device giant has come under scrutiny from congressional investigators after he was paid at least $1.2 million by the company between 2003 and 2007, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
