Beaumont Hospitals' Nerve Re-Routing Trial Bases on Fraudulent Data
William Beaumont Hospitals are currently conducting a clinic trial on the Lumbar to Sacral Ventral Nerve Re-Routing. On the record in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry, Dr. Xiao's review article is on the top of the list of Publications (Xiao's another paper listed there is regarding the results on rats). In his review, Dr. Chuanguo Xiao claims by citing his conference report [25]:
By the end of 2004, a total of 92 SCI patients with hyper reflexic or acontractile bladder in our hospital have been treated with the somatic and autonomic reflex arc procedure and 81 of them regained bladder control one year postoperatively [25].
...Up to date, we have performed the procedure for bladder and bowel control safely on 110 children with spina bifida [25]. The rate of success at the one year follow-up is 87%, compared to the 85% for the first 20 cases reported.
...Occurrence rate of partial loss of the left L4 or L5 motor function after surgery, the only complication for 25% of the first 20 cases, has been dramatically reduced to 5% with only slighter and recoverable muscular weakness by using only half of the lumbar ventral root [25].
In a press release from Beaumont, it states the similar assertion:
Chuan-Guo Xiao, M.D., reports an almost 90-percent success rate....Possible side effects of the surgery include mild postoperative spinal fluid leakage, lower extremity weakness and headache. Recent changes in the surgical technique have dramatically decreased the incidence of these complications. Standard risks associated with any surgery may include bleeding and infection.
It thus can be concluded that the trial at Beaumont is based on the results provided by Dr. Xiao in his review, especially on the results in his report [25] cited by the review, since it provides so far the best success rate, the least rate of risk, and the most number of patients among his publications.
Unfortunately, the data in the review are either exaggerated or fabricated.
No one really knows how may patients have undergone this procedure, except Dr. Xiao and the institute where he serves, Xiehe Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST).
In one propaganda material provided by the Propaganda Department of Xiehe Hospital, it says: "From 2000 ... 62 patients with spina bifida have been treated". It should be noted that the material was dated on August 28, 2004. In contrast, the report [25] dated on July 2-4, 2005 gives a total of 110 children with spina bifida for a one year follow-up.
Another news report from the HUST Weekly says: "Up to date, 218 cases of the artificial reflex arc have been done in China". Again, it should be noted that the news appeared on the March 2006 Issue. It seems that, 20 months later after the report was given, the number of patients increased only from 202 (92 SCI and 110 spina bifida cases) to 216. Much stranger than that: the number in the report [25] is actually that of the patients treated before the end of 2004 and with one year follow-up. Moreover, from the context of the review, the report [25] excludes those patients reported in Xiao's previous papers (15 SCI and 20 spina bifida cases).
No one really knows what the success rate of the procedure is, seemingly INCLUDING Dr. Xiao and his institute.
In the above-mentioned HUST Weekly news, it claimed "the rate of effectiveness is as high as 80%" for the total 218 cases in China, while the rate of success in the report [25] is 88% and 87% for the SCI and spina bifida cases, respectively. This means there were 174 cases of effectiveness in March 2006, whereas 177 cases of success back to the end of 2004, not to mention the the number of cases increased during this period. The Propaganda Department and the official HUST Weekly have no reason to play down on Dr. Xiao's achievement, they only have the reason to propagate it for the institute's fame.
Dr. Xiao himself seems forgot what he said about the success rate of 88% or 87% several years ago in his paper, and forgot another well known success rate of 85%, which was widely propagated by Shenyuan Hospital who is facing patients' class lawsuit. In an interview with Hubei Provincial Television on March 29, 2009, Dr. Xiao told another story: "we have done 1500 cases, the success rate is nearly 80%."
..the risk of the procedure...
The conference report [25] does not exist in the literature. There indeed exists an International Conference of Urology in Shanghai on July 2-4, 2005, which was solely sponsored by the Chinese Journal of Clinical Urology, Dr. Xiao being the Editor-in-Chief of the journal; there indeed exists an proceeding of the conference in the literature database, but Xiao's report disappeared.
...Dr. Xiao played the same trick when he applied for the membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). ...
"I was wowed in China when I saw Dr. Xiao's data," Dr. Kenneth Peters, Chairman of Urology Department who lead the trial at Beaumont, once told St. Petersburg Times. My question is: What data did Dr. Peters really see? the data from the non-existent report [25]? or the data that Dr. Xiao presented to the CAS?