Class-action lawsuits allege surgical staples failed and caused further complications

Surgical staples are critical tools for surgeons, used often during minimally invasive operations to replace older-style sutures in closing incisions -- but some patients are alleging in class-action lawsuits that sometimes, these staples can lead to further complications.

But some patients, like Angelo Paolozzi, are alleging in class-action lawsuits that sometimes, these staples can lead to further complications — a risk he believes more people should know about.

The 56-year-old says the staples used to hold his bowel together after a surgery for diverticulitis -- the inflammation of pouches in his intestines -- failed, triggering a life-threatening infection.

“I was starting to get a fever,” he told CTVNews. “I was very distended, so everything was filling in to my cavity, my stomach cavity.”

In order to solve the problem caused by the staples, he had to go into emergency surgery. He said that a doctor told him, “If we don’t operate tonight, you might not be here tomorrow.”