Celebrities are constantly making headlines for surgeries-usually those involving popular plastics or silicone. A shorter list is of those celebrities that went under the knife for other medical treatments-specifically-medical devices or replacements.
According to FDC Act, Section 201, a device is an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, with is
- Intended for the use in the diagnosis of disease, in cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease
- Intended to affect the structure of any function of the body not achieved through chemical action or by being metabolized
So, technically, a lot of those plastic surgeries that celebrities are making headlines for are for the implanting of a medical device-but those lists can get far too long. Let’s concentrate on a couple of shorter lists!
Celebrities with pacemakers:
- VP Dick Cheney
- Former Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams
- “Sir” Elton John
Celebrities with Hip Replacements:
- Former President Bush and his wife 3 years later at the Mayo Clinic
- Billy Joel-both hips
- Jane Fonda-she’s a two for one with a knee replacement
- Former co-host Regis Philbin
- Ray Charles
- Former coach of “Da”-Chicago Bears Mike Ditka
- Katherine Hepburn
- Mary Lou Retton
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Duke Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski
Lastly, Michael Douglas had a knee replacement in 2009. Can you add to this list? What are other devices that celebrities can have implanted that you wouldn’t initially classify as a medical device?
Photo Credit: BAMCAT