The motion was filed in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia this month. One patient underwent valve-replacement surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia two years ago, and the other had heart surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia a year ago. They claim they contracted infections after their surgeries.
Penn Medicine officials declined to comment on the matter when asked by the Inquirer, citing the pending litigation.
In September, Penn Medicine began notifying hundreds of patients who may have been exposed to contaminated heater-cooler machines during major cardiac surgery after detecting nontuberculous mycobacterium in four heart surgery patients.
In October 2016, a patient filed suit against Penn Medicine after reportedly incurring an infection during heart surgery at Penn Presbyterian in Philadelphia, according to the Inquirer.
NTM bacteria are found in tap water and soil and pose little risk to healthy people. While benign in the environment, the microbes can incite infections in ill patients with open chest cavities. Symptoms reported by the plaintiffs include lethargy, weight loss and pectoral pain.
In recent months, multiple hospitals have issued warnings former patients about possible infections related to heater-cooler devices. Most recently, Medical University of South Carolina Health in Charleston began notifying 3,000 patients of possible infections, though the hospital has had no reports of NTM infections among patients.
Both the CDC and Food and Drug Administration have attributed NTM infections to Stöckert 3T heater-cooler devices, which regulate the body’s temperature during surgery.
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