• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Family of woman who died from staph infection outraged at surgeon, hospital

Infection Control Monitor, November 11, 2005

The family of a woman who may have died from a staph infection that her surgeon transmitted to her wants to know why the Massachusetts hospital did not notify them in advance of the infectious trend stemming from the surgeon, reports The Boston Globe.

Jean Cantwell, 75, died two weeks after successful back surgery at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. The hospital says Thorkild Norregaard, MD, who operated on Cantwell, tested positive for a staph infection. Cantwell was the fifth patient of Norregaard to return with a staph infection over a three-month period, but the hospital did not warn Cantwell's family about the unusual number of infections.

State investigators concluded that the hospital did nothing wrong in Cantwell's death. Norregaard was unaware of the infection, as was the hospital, prior to her surgery. Investigators believe the bacteria got past his surgical mask and invaded the surgical opening in Cantwell's lower back during the procedure in October 2004.

While it is possible that Norregaard is responsible for the infection, it is also possible that Cantwell acquired the infection at home, according to a lawyer representing Norregaard.

Norregaard, a surgeon for 17 years, has since resigned after a dispute with the hospital over the steps he should take before he would be allowed to operate again. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where Norregaard also practiced, also revoked his admitting privileges as well.

After a state investigation of his safety procedures began last month, Norregaard closed his private practice.

About 500,000 surgical wounds become infected with staph or other germs each year, killing tens of thousands, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive