Lawsuit claims 3M device caused infections during surgery
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that over 4,000 people are suing 3M Co., for having incurred “serious infections after joint surgery.” They blame 3M “for selling a warm-air blower that may have deposited infectious bacteria in their incisions during surgery.” As yet, none claims “definitive physical proof” 3M’s Bair Hugger “moved a specific bacterium into their wound.” They instead “will rely on expert testimony and calculations by a supercomputer” to show the device “can cause infections.” The Star Tribune adds that the FDA, on August 30, “reiterated its advice that using patient-warming systems including the Bair Hugger in surgery has been demonstrated to decrease the risk of infections.”
