Patients are more likely to suffer from a serious infection after open heart surgery if their surgery used a contaminated cardiac heater-cooler device. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that patients who have undergone open heart surgery since 2012 may be at risk for a life-threatening infection.

The Stockert 3T device is a machine commonly used during surgery to regulate a patient’s blood and organ temperature. Devices do this by circulating water, warming and cooling the body as deemed necessary for surgery. The Stockert 3T heater-cooler system is manufactured by LivaNova PLC.

The CDC has released a warning to consumers about the risk of infection after open heart surgery with one of these devices. The risk comes from contamination in some of these devices that occurred during the manufacturing process. The CDC warned that patients undergoing heart surgery may be at risk of serious infection after open heart surgery from these contaminated heater-cooler devices.

According to a growing number of patients, device contamination has led to Nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) infection after open heart surgery. NTM symptoms include night sweats, aching muscles, weight loss, fatigue, and unexplained fever. Symptoms of an NTM infection may remain dormant for quite some time instead of appearing right away, and can take months to surface after the initial infection.

This extended amount of time between infection and when a patient starts exhibiting symptoms often means that patients have no idea what caused the problem in the first place, leading to a delayed diagnosis for months or even years.

Fortunately, NTM is not a contagious disease, and can’t spread from person to person. However, it is a serious and life-threatening illness and in some cases, patients may have to go through over a year of recovery.

While the CDC notes that the “overall risk of (Mycobacterium) infection is low relative to other complications following surgery,” it still affects between one in 100 and one in 1,000 patients.

And despite its rarity, NTM infection after open heart surgery can have permanent consequences, even becoming fatal for some patients. In fact, the CDC reports that the contamination of Stockert 3T devices may have led to infections that contributed to 28 deaths across the country.

The potential risk factor for these contaminated devices is vast. Indeed, according to the CDC, over a quarter million open heart surgeries are completed each year. Stockert 3T machines are used during most of these surgeries.

Lawsuits Over NTM Infection After Open Heart Surgery

A class action lawsuit against LivaNova was filed in February 2016 over alleged NTM infection after open heart surgery. The patients involved in the class action suit had undergone open heart surgeries in 2015 and since experienced dangerous infection symptoms.

If you or someone you love has suffered from a NTM infection after open heart surgery with the use of a heater-cooler device and believe that contaminated heater-cooler devices may have been the cause, you may be able to file a lawsuit or join a class action lawsuit.