The Bair Hugger, a medical device used to warm patients after surgery, has been alleged to spread bacteria associated with hospital infections.

In fact, the very doctor who invented the machine, Dr. Scott Augustine, claims the Bair Hugger poses a danger of bacterial infection in people receiving implant devices like artificial heart valves and joints or patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery.

What is the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warmer?

The Bair Hugger system uses forced, warm air to prevent and treat hypothermia in surgical patients. The device, which was created by Dr. Augustine, consists of warming units and disposable blankets that distribute warm air across the patient before, during and/or after surgery.

Studies have shown that keeping a patient warm during surgery produces benefits like less bleeding and a faster recovery.

Controversy Over Bair Hugger

Several years ago, Dr. Augustine told doctors to stop using the device altogether. After reviewing studies, he said that contaminants from the operating room floor could become airborne and come in contact with the surgical site.

In fact, research published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery proposed that the disruption of the ultra-clean air along with the creation of convection currents drawing air from non-sterile areas by forced-air warmers, like Bair Hugger, are plausible explanations for what it found to be a significant association between using forced-air warmers and risk of surgery site infections. Dr. Augustine asserts that the forced air can spread bacteria associated with hospital-acquired infections.

In a New York Times report, Dr. Augustine claims that he now has a safer alternative that works more like an electric blanket, and doesn’t used forced air. Dr. Augustine has spoken out against the Bair Hugger at professional medical meetings and has underwritten studies intended to show that it may pose a bacterial threat.

To further the controversy, Dr. Augustine has also accused the marketer of the Bair Hugger, Arizant, of covering up its problems. Underlying all of this controversy is an ongoing feud between Dr. Augustine and Arizant. Dr. Augustine resigned in 2002 as chairman and chief executive of the company, which used to be known as Augustine Medical, after a dispute with other board members.

After a 2004 guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a Medicare fraud investigation, Dr. Augustine sued Arizant, claiming the company was required to indemnify him. He ultimately received around $5 million in a settlement, according to the Times article.

Bair Hugger Lawsuits

A number of Bair Hugger lawsuits have been filed against 3M (who acquired Arizant in 2010) alleging that the heat generated by the device can redirect air circulation during surgery.

This change, according to the Bair Hugger lawsuits, can cause bacteria and other contaminants on the operating room floor to become airborne. As a result, it is alleged that patients have a greater risk of developing MRSA or other hospital infections, according to the lawsuits.

One Bair Hugger lawsuit alleges that a 70-year-old man from Texas developed a deep joint infection that required 15 additional operations following surgery using the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming System. Another Bair Hugger lawsuit claims that a patient developed a MRSA infection that resulted in a leg amputation after the device “kicked up” bacteria from the floor.