Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Medical Center and Lakeland Surgical & Diagnostic Center cancelled surgeries scheduled for Friday, July 25, after medical staff suspected that a surgical instrument may have been exposed to a fatal brain disease, according to a report by The Ledger.
According to an email from hospital spokeswoman Yadira Holmes, the hospital cancelled the surgeries as soon as they were notified about the possible exposure to infection. The hospital received the surgical instruments from an out-of-county facility where there was a possible case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal brain disease, the email said.
While the instrument that was used on the patient with a potential case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease did not leave the out-of-county facility, LRMC hospital officials speculate that surgical instruments used at the facility were washed at the same time as instruments that were routinely transferred to LRMC.
"Steps were immediately taken to safely utilize instruments not involved in this situation to deal with any urgent procedures," Ms. Holmes wrote.
Lakeland Surgical & Diagnostic Center, a facility adjacent to LRMC, also canceled scheduled surgeries on Friday. The questionable surgical instruments were not brought over to the surgical center; however, one instrument used at the center for a foot surgery may have come in contact with the potentially infected instruments. Staff at the center planned on bleaching all instruments over the weekend.
A Polk County Department of Health spokesman said that they were aware of the situation and did not think it posed a threat to public health, according to the report.
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