A Las Vegas woman who developed two severe hospital infections after knee replacement surgery filed a lawsuit blaming the Bair Hugger, a forced-air surgical warming blanket, for blowing bacteria onto her surgical wound.

Plaintiff Lorraine L. underwent knee replacement surgery in September 2013 and developed two serious hospital infections known as Enterococcus Faecalis and Peptoestrettococcus, according to her Bair Hugger lawsuit.

Due to the infections, Lorraine had to undergo additional surgeries to remove the implant and clean the infected area within a year of her original knee replacement surgery, her Bair Hugger lawsuit says. She continues to suffer from permanent injuries as a result of the alleged Bair Hugger-induced infection.

Lorraine claims her infection was caused by the Bair Hugger, a portable device that forces air into a disposable blanket that is draped over a patient during surgery. Her lawsuit states the surgical warming device can blow tainted pathogens directly onto a patient.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit further alleges that 3M attempted to conceal information that indicated an increased risk of serious infections with the use of the Bair Hugger during knee and hip replacement surgeries.

About the Bair Hugger Warming System

The Bair Hugger is 3M’s version of a forced hot air warming blanket. The purpose of the portable device is to help maintain a patient’s body temperature during surgery, which can lessen bleeding, speed recovery time, and provide other benefits.

For this reason, forced air warming systems are often used during hip or knee replacement surgery to help maintain a patient’s core body temperature as close to normal as possible.

3M’s Bair Hugger works like a forced-air heater, pushing warm air through a flexible hose into a surgical blanket draped over a patient. To work as intended, the device discharges warm air over a patient’s body, but also releases air under the surgical table.

The air discharged under the table can cause bacteria to become dispersed and recirculated, landing on a patient’s surgical site, potentially leading to a deep joint infection. Hospital infections tend to be very difficult to treat.

Bair Hugger Lawsuits

There has been much controversy as of late regarding the use of the portable device.  Even the inventor of the Bair Hugger warming system, Dr. Scott Augustine, has publicly stated that the device can be dangerous because of the risk of spreading bacteria associated with hospital infections.

The issue of potential contamination has been around for a while. In a 1997 letter addressed to the FDA, the defendants admitted that “air blown intraoperatively across the surgical wound may result in airborne contamination.”

Several Bair Hugger lawsuits have been filed against 3M alleging that the heat generated by the device can redirect air circulation during surgery.  In general, Bair Hugger lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

The Bair Hugger Lawsuit is Case No. 0:15-cv-03702-SRN-TNL, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.