Medical device manufacturer LivaNova has asked that the heart surgery infection lawsuits it faces be consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in South Carolina.

This request is a change of heart for LivaNova, which had asked only last year that the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation not consolidate the heart surgery infection lawsuits.

The company’s shift came after far more heart surgery infection lawsuits were filed than they expected. When the company originally requested that the claims not be consolidated, there were only 15 heart surgery infection lawsuits filed, and they weren’t expecting many more. Now, a total of 80 heart surgery infection lawsuits have been filed against LivaNova, and the company has admitted it was wrong to avoid consolidation.

Plaintiffs involved in the heart surgery infection lawsuits allege that they were exposed to nontuberculous mycobacterium from the LivaNova heater-cooler system. Nontuberculous mycobacterium is linked with pulmonary diseases. Though NTM rarely leads to illness, patients whose immune systems are compromised are at particular risk.

Heater-Cooler Devices

The heart surgery infection lawsuits were filed over LivaNova’s Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler device. Heater-cooler systems like the Sorin 3T are used to regulate patients’ blood temperature during heart surgery. These devices use temperature-controlled water to send to warming and cooling blankets. Unfortunately, some heater-cooler systems may have become contaminated, placing patients at risk of developing an NTM infection.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has even warned about the risk of mycobacterial infection from LivaNova heater-cooler devices, noting that they may have become contaminated during the manufacturing process with NTM. LivaNova’s Sorin3T device was recalled by the FDA in July 2015 for its potential to cause infection.

NTM Infection

The temperature-controlled water of a heater cooler system may become contaminated. Then, the contaminated water may be able to move through other parts of the device or even through the air, through the device’s exhaust vent, and toward the patient. During a heart surgery, contamination in the air can lead to an NTM infection. However, it may take a long time for the infection itself to surface.

Patients may not even develop symptoms of the infection after heart surgery for months or even years after the initial exposure. A growing number of patients are filing cardiac surgery infection lawsuits over allegedly contaminated devices used during surgery.

Indeed, though an NTM infection is relatively harmless, it can actually become deadly if it moves into a chest cavity or a prosthetic heart valve.

Filing Heart Surgery Infection Lawsuits

If you or someone you love has suffered from an NTM infection after heart surgery with the use of a heater cooler device, you may be able to join the growing number of heart surgery infection lawsuits.

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