Heart surgery, for many patients, is a nerve-wracking and anxiety provoking experience that can turn out to be one that essentially gives them a new lease on life. However, for some unsuspecting patients, a complication can show up later that can take them completely by surprise.

A cardiac surgery heater cooler device is used during many heart surgeries across the country. The device is used to keep the heart surgery patient’s body at an ideal temperature in order to reduce the risk of bleeding from surgery and to improve surgical outcomes in general.

The cardiac surgery heater cooler device has warmed water that is responsible for helping the patient maintain a constant ideal body temperature.

Although no water actually comes into contact with the patient’s body, there is water that can be aerosolized into the air.  This is where the cardiac surgery heater cooler danger may become responsible for dangerous conditions.

Stockert 3T Cardiac Surgery Heater Cooler Device

The Stockert 3T cardiac surgery heater cooler device is manufactured by a company known as LivaNova.  There have been numerous reports that patients who underwent heart surgery when this medical device was used went on to develop a rare and slow growing bacterial infection.

After investigation into the manufacturing processes of the cardiac surgery heater cooler device, it was found that the device was prone to have bacteria grow in the water that could be disseminated into the operating room during surgery.

After the bacteria became airborne, it can come into contact with the patient’s surgical site and cause a serious and potentially deadly infection.

Infections caused by the cardiac surgery heater cooler device cause symptoms including “night sweats, muscle aches, weight loss, fatigue, or unexplained fever,” the FDA states.

These symptoms are common with other conditions and were initially overlooked by some physicians due to their non-specific nature. In many cases, physicians only look for this particular type of bacterial infection if there is a known exposure to the bacteria at hand.

The CDC estimated that a patient’s risk of developing a cardiac surgery heater cooler infection is about one in one thousand if the surgery took place at s hospital where an infection had been identified.

The makers of the cardiac surgery heater cooler have notified the hospitals of the potential bacterial contamination of the devices, and hospitals have notified patients who have undergone heart surgery during the critical period when a bacterial infection may have developed following this surgery.

A number of lawsuits have already been filed against the makers of the potentially contaminated cardiac surgery heater cooler devices.

Plaintiffs in these lawsuits allege that the design of the device was defective, the manufacturing was defective and information about the product was also defective because patients were not properly warned about possible complications relating to bacterial infection.

In at least one such lawsuit, the patient died as a result of the infection he contracted.

If you or a loved one has developed a cardiac surgery heater cooler infection, you may be eligible to take legal action against the manufacture in an attempt to recover damages related to your injury.

An experienced products liability attorney can review your case at no charge and can guide you in your legal options as you consider pursuing a lawsuit.