If you or someone you love has experienced a serious infection after heart surgery, there may be a reason. More and more patients are reporting suffering from infection after heart surgery, and some claim that this is caused by a contaminated heater-cooler device used during the procedure.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned about the possibility of developing a serious infection after heart surgery linked with the use of contaminated heater-cooler devices.

What is a Heater-Cooler Device?

Heater-cooler devices are used during heart surgeries to regulate the patient’s body temperature, warming and cooling the blood as needed. These devices use temperature-controlled water to send to warming and cooling blankets.

Unfortunately, there is a possibility of this water being contaminated and harming patients. Patients do not come into contact with this water directly, but contaminated water may be able to go through other parts of the device and cause bacteria to aerosolize (that is, move through the air) through the exhaust vent toward the patient, entering operation sites.

Infection After Heart Surgery

Heater-cooler devices are manufactured by a number of companies, including LivaNova. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that during the manufacturing process, some of the Sorin3T devices from LivaNova may have been contaminated with a bacterial species of nontuberculousmycobacterium (NTM), which can cause infection after heart surgery. In fact, the Sorin3T device was recalled by the FDA in July 2015 due to the “potential colonization of organisms, including Mycobacterium.”

A growing number of patients are now filing lawsuits over infections caused by contaminated devices used during surgery.

The FDA has looked into adverse event reports, which include reports of infection after heart surgery. One of the major problems linked with contaminated heater-cooler devices is NTM infections. NTM, often found naturally, is not usually threatening, but can be a danger to patients who recently underwent surgery. An NTM infection after heart surgery may be a sign that the bacteria grew in the heater-cooler water tank.

A person who undergoes a heart surgery will likely not even consider an infected device as one of the possible causes of infection, months or years down the line. This may cause diagnosis issues for patients, as they may not even develop symptoms of the infection after heart surgery for months or even years after the initial exposure. Indeed, reports show that the average cardiac surgery patient linked with heater-cooler contamination failed to show symptoms of infection after heart surgery for one and a half to three years.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Infection After Heart Surgery

If you or someone you love has suffered from an NTM infection after heart surgery after the use of a heater-cooler device like the Sorin 3T System, you may be able to file a lawsuit or join a class action heart surgery infection lawsuit.

While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the physical and emotional effects of such a serious infection after heart surgery or bring a loved one back to life, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.