A recent study suggests that forced-air warmers like 3M’s Bair Hugger can circulate contaminated air, which may place joint replacement patients at serious risk for hospital infections.

The Bair Hugger warming system is commonly used during hip replacement and knee replacement surgery as a way to regulate the body temperature of patients. However, in a 2012 study published by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, researchers found that forced-air warming significantly increased the number of airborne particles over the surgical site. The studies did not conclude the additional particles carried bacteria, but they found the increased particles a cause for concern.

Medical experts claim that even a single contaminate could place a patient at an increased risk of developing an infection.

Bair Hugger Forced Air Warmer Overview

The Bair Hugger blanket first came on the market in 1988 as a way to keep patients warm during surgery. This surgical practice has been proven to reduce bleeding and shorten recovery time. The disposable blanket is connected to a portable heater that circulates hot air over the patient’s body.

Recent Bair Hugger lawsuits suggest that the system has caused complications in some surgery patients, including: joint implant removal and revision, additional surgeries, intravenous antibiotic treatment, physical therapy, deep joint infections, hospitalization, and amputations.

Bair Hugger Complications

In a retrospective medical study, researchers analyzed documented cases of periprosthetic joint infections and found that when forced-air warmers, like the Bair Hugger warming system, were replaced with an air-free warming system, the rate of infection dropped by 74 percent.

In a recent medical article that addressed the concerns of using the Bair Hugger warming system during surgery, the recommendation was that physicians should continue using the Bair Hugger device as long as it was “clean.” However, the inventor of Bair Hugger claims this is impossible.

Dr. Scott Augustine who invented the machine states that the Bair Hugger warming system is simply not cleanable. Augustine claims that the internal airflow paths are contaminated 100 percent of the time, and even if they were to be cleaned, there’s no way to prevent airborne bacteria from reaching open wounds through waste heat.

In recent years, Dr. Augustine has spoken out about the potential risks of using the Bair Hugger warming system during surgeries. He also reportedly has invented a safer alternative to keeping patients warm that does not used forced air but works similarly to an electric blanket.

Growing Number of Bair Hugger Lawsuits

Multiple Bair Hugger lawsuits claim that 3M subsidiaries knew of the increased risk of bacterial infections linked to the medical device for years yet continued to market the product as a “safe” machine to use during surgical procedures.

One of the Bair Hugger lawsuits alleges that the plaintiff developed a MRSA infection after the machine circulated bacteria from the surgical floor. The patient was forced to have a leg amputation as a result.

In another Bair Hugger lawsuit, the plaintiff claims that he was diagnosed with a deep joint infection after undergoing surgical procedure that used the Bair Hugger system. The Texas resident reports that his condition required 15 additional operations.