Even though it has been roughly six months since the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor (Mich.) Healthcare System discovered particulate matter on sterile surgical tools and took steps to fix the problem, surgeries are still currently being canceled or moved elsewhere because of the issue.
In November, the hospital stopped surgeries after noticing particulates on tools, which officials blamed on a water main break at the hospital. In response, the hospital flushed its water lines and had surgical equipment sent to Detroit to be sterilized.
However, those fixes appear to have failed, as a spokesman told the Detroit Free Press the hospital has "experienced an intermittent recurrence of sterile micro-particulates in some instrument trays," which led to cancellation of some surgeries. Other surgical patients were sent elsewhere for their more complex procedures.
The spokesman stressed that the Ann Arbor VA's surgery cancellation rates are in line with the national VA rates, and that no patients have been put at risk from the situation.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, has been involved since the issue arose in November. She issued a statement Friday saying she was "deeply disturbed" by the ongoing problem and that "the administration has been bringing in experts to seek solutions but it remains unacceptable that this problem continues to persist and that they still do not have answers about the source of the particulate matter that is appearing on surgical equipment."