Model who lost leg to toxic shock syndrome has her other leg amputated

Model Lauren Wasser, who lost part of her right leg and the toes on her left foot to toxic shock syndrome in 2012, had her left leg amputated last week.

Wasser was a healthy 24-year-old using tampons when she developed toxic shock syndrome, or TSS, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition typically caused by toxins from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, or staph.

TSS has been associated primarily with the use of super-absorbent tampons, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, since manufacturers pulled certain types of tampons off the market, cases of TSS in menstruating women have declined, the clinic says.

After the first amputation Wasser became an advocate for women’s health, warning about potential risks associated with tampons and starting discussions about the safety of feminine hygiene products.

The Food and Drug Administration requires tampon manufacturers to include warning labels about the risk of TSS with tampon use.

Just a few days before her second amputation on Thursday, Wasser told her Instagram followers that “life is about to be so different, again. I’m in great spirits though and ready for my next chapter.”

Her partner, photographer Jennifer Rovero, kept Wasser’s followers updated about the procedure on Instagram.

Wasser has said she doesn’t remember much about getting sick very quickly one day in October 2012 when she spiked a dangerous fever and became so ill that police called to check on her found her face down on her bedroom floor.

In the days that came after she almost died.

In an interview with StyleLikeU in October, Wasser did recall the moment when the surgical team wrote “yes” on her infected right leg and “no” on the left.

Yes, amputate this one. No, leave this one there.

She remembered her mom kissing the leg marked for amputation, as though she was saying good-bye to it.

She’s lived with pain in her left foot for years. She told People and other media outlets in December that a second amputation was coming.

“I don’t have toes, and I have to go to wound care every Monday for my heel,” she told People. “I’m in so much pain. It’s a hard decision, but my only way to freedom.

“I can’t wait to have two gold blades, to run and feel the wind on my face again.”

Paralympian snowboarder Amy Purdy, who is also a double amputee, visited Wasser in the hospital. Purdy lost her legs after contracting Neisseria meningitis, a bacterial infection similar to toxic shock syndrome.

“Our stories are so similar and in fact they thought I had TSS when I first entered the hospital,” Purdy wrote. “Lauren is so beautiful and strong, I’m telling ya, this chick is going to go far.”

Toxic shock syndrome is rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 323 cases in the United States in 2016, according to Popular Science. Twenty six people died of it.

Less than half of all cases of TSS involve a tampon - many women get it through an infected wound, such as a surgical incision from a C-section, Popular Science reports.

Men can get it, too. Muppets creator Jim Henson died from toxic shock syndrome in 1990 at age 53. Doctors said he died from TSS produced by the streptococcal bacteria, similar to the toxic shock syndrome epidemic from staphylococcal infections that struck women who used a certain kind of tampon in the early 1980s, The New York Times reported.

At that time tampons had become more absorbent, “which meant that women could leave them in for longer, plus they could harbor more moisture and therefore were better hosts for bacteria,” Popular Science notes.

“And if the tampon is too drying, you can get scratches to the vaginal wall that allows bacteria and toxins to spread more easily.”

There were infamous problems with a tampon named Rely. It contained the chemical carboxymethylcellulose, CMC, which made it able to soak up about 20 times its own weight, “pretty much the perfect breeding ground for bacteria,” notes Popular Science.

CMC is now banned for use in tampons.

A spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration told The Washington Post last month that tampons approved for marketing are safe and that the FDA must clear tampons before they’re sold in the United States.

Tampon makers must give the FDA “a list of component materials (such as chemicals, additives, finishing agents used) and a risk analysis concerning vaginal injury, tissue reactions and infections,” Deborah Kotz told the Post.

“Manufacturers are also advised to conduct microbiology testing to demonstrate that the tampon does not enhance the growth of certain bacteria or other organisms, including the bacteria known to cause toxic shock syndrome, and demonstrate that tampons meet their claimed absorbency level.”

Wasser is advocating for legislation, with help from Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D-N.Y.), to require the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research into the safety of tampons and other feminine hygiene products.

“I think this is my purpose and I wouldn't change it for the world,” she told the Post.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Model who lost leg to toxic shock syndrome has her other leg amputated."