A Louisiana man is suing the 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare, Inc. because of an infection he claims he developed when a Bair Hugger surgical blanket was used on him during surgery.

Plaintiff James S. had surgery in May 2014.

His complaint says, “contaminants introduced into Plaintiff’s open surgical wound as a direct and proximate result of the Bair Hugger during the subject surgery resulted in the Plaintiff developing a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), also known as a deep joint infection (DJI).”

Because of the deep joint infection that ensued allegedly from the Bair Hugger surgical blanket, James had to go through “Multiple Staged Procedures” that included revision arthroplasty and wound vac treatment, in May, August and October of 2014.

Bair Hugger Surgical Blanket Inventor Speaks Against His Invention

Dr. Scott D. Augustine invented Bair Hugger surgical blankets, which warm the body by using forced air.

When people are undergoing surgery, hypothermia is a danger, and the Bair Hugger surgical blankets keep the body from getting dangerously cold.

Dr. Augustine says the Bair Hugger surgical blanket should not be used in patients undergoing surgery such as joint replacement surgery because he fears his invention can introduce bacteria into the open wounds.

“I am very proud of the old technology,” he said in a New York Times article. “But I am also proud to spread the word that there is a problem.”

3M says Dr. Augustine’s declarations are based on non-scientific studies that do not prove any connection between the forced air blankets and increased infection rates.

How Could the Bair Hugger Surgical Blanket Cause a Problem?

One of the fears is that the air currents generated by the Bair Hugger surgical blanket could contaminate the operating room.

The nonsterile areas of the room, such as the floor, could contain contaminants that become drawn up into the surgical site by the convection currents.

A 2012 study published in The Bone & Joint Journal compared a forced air warming device with a radiant warming device. They also examined the air with no warming device as a control.

The study by A.J. Legg, et. al, showed that the number of particles over the surgical site significantly increased with forced air warming more so than with radiant warming, “which raises concern as bacteria are known to require particles for transport.”

Risk of Prosthetic Joint Infections

The reason joint implantation surgeries pose a particularly different risk of infection is because our immune system has a hard time fighting bacteria that rests on metal and plastic parts.

While our blood stream eliminates most infections, there is no natural lubricated pathway to carry bacteria away from plastic or metal.

Prosthetic joint infections that are classified as “early” are those that occur within three months of implantation.

Any joint replacement infection that occurs three to 12 months after implantation is termed “delayed,” while any infection that occurs more than 12 months after implantation is called “late.”

Early and delayed infections are most likely due to bacteria introduced at the time of surgery, according to E. Moran, et. al. in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. This is the alleged issue with the Bair Hugger surgical blanket.

The Bair Hugger Surgical Blanket Lawsuit is part of the larger multidistrict litigation known as MDL No. 2666 in the United States District Court District of Minnesota.