Devices used in heart surgery still spreading deadly bacteria

Feds issue toothless warning about risk from heart surgery device

Henry Weinacker shouldn’t have died.

Especially the way he did — in pain, and suffering from an infection that he was too weak to even be treated for.

The 74-year-old had successfully made it through open-heart surgery. He was on the road to recovery — or should have been.

But Henry died because of a piece of malfunctioning medical equipment that I warned you about last year.

The FDA and CDC are well aware of the problem. But instead of issuing a 10-alarm alert, it was left up to hospitals to decide if they wanted to notify patients at risk. The feds just sat on their hands while these defective devices kept right on being used.

So if you or someone you love has had open-heart surgery — months or even years ago — this is a warning you need to hear right now.

And it’s something that even your doctor might not be aware of.

Too little, too late

If there ever was a situation where both the FDA and CDC could have used their powers to save lives, this is it.

But instead, a press release was just sent out saying the “CDC encourages hospitals to take action.”

Are you serious?

I mean we know they’ve been aware of this specific danger for over a year now and the answer is to send out a press release?

But I guess our so-called watchdog agencies didn’t want to step on any toes. And as a result people are getting very sick — and they don’t even have a clue as to what might be wrong with them.

The problem with these devices, which use water-filled tubes to control your body temperature during surgery, is that they can easily become contaminated with a very common bacteria. The contaminated water never touches your body, but the tubes can leak inside the machine.

Once that happens, bacterial-laden water is sent out into the air in a mist that can land directly inside your body during surgery.

As I mentioned, this bacteria, called “non-tuberculosis mycobacteria,” or NTM, is very common. And it’s also grows very slowly.

So while some people like Henry might come down with an NTM infection several months after heart surgery, experts warn you’re not out of the woods for years.

The CDC can issue all the press releases its wants, but that’s not going to save lives. Hospitals should be required to contact all open-heart surgery patients immediately and tell them about the risk along with the common symptoms of an NTM infection.

Some hospitals are contacting patients. But most are probably thinking about their bottom line — as in, we’ll get sued if we warn people.

At this point, there is no excuse for a hospital to be uninformed about the risk. Whether they’ll tell you or not is another story.

So here’s what you need to know:

Heater/cooler devices are used in around 60 percent of heart bypass operations.
Patients most at risk are those who had valves or prosthetic products implanted.
If you’ve been mysteriously sick since an open-heart procedure with symptoms such as night sweats, muscle aches, weight loss, fatigue and fever (in other words, just like the flu), contact your doctor immediately.
Patients can be tested for NTM through a laboratory culture, but it can take several months to confirm.

And don’t let your doctor or someone in the hospital put you off by saying either how common this bacteria is or how rare it is to get an infection from it. Patients have been told both.

Also — if you’re scheduled for any open-heart surgery ask your doctor if this device will be used. And if so, ask if it has been tested for contamination or is connected with any cases of NTM.

Sources:
“The frightening new risk in heart surgery” Jeneen Interlandi, October 13, 2016, Consumer Reports, consumerreports.org