The Latest: State probing unclean tools at medical centre

DETROIT – The Latest on problems with unclean surgical tools at Detroit Medical Center (all times local):

7 p.m.

State officials are investigating issues related to sterilization of surgical equipment at Detroit Medical Center facilities.

The Detroit News reports (http://detne.ws/2bEJNzt ) the probe by the Michigan Bureau of Community Health Systems was started Thursday — after the newspaper said it obtained more than 200 pages of emails and reports on problems with sterilization at the DMC.

DMC Chief Administration Officer Conrad Mallett told the newspaper that the problems have affected five hospitals on its campus, which rely on the same department to sterilize instruments.

The News says heart surgery on a 7-month-old girl was stopped last year when blood from a previous patient was discovered in a suction tube.

In a June 2015 email, Children’s Hospital chief surgeon Dr. Joseph Lelli said patients were being put at risk.

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9 a.m.

A senior official at Detroit Medical Center says problems with unclean surgical tools need to be fixed and have caused doctors to cancel procedures.

Conrad Mallett, chief administration officer at DMC, tells The Detroit News that the problems have affected five hospitals on the DMC campus, which rely on the same department to sterilize instruments.

The News (http://detne.ws/2bIjohG ) says heart surgery on a 7-month-old girl was stopped last year when blood from a previous patient was discovered in a suction tube. The newspaper says it obtained more than 200 pages of emails and reports on problems with sterilization.

In a June 2015 email, Children’s Hospital chief surgeon Dr. Joseph Lelli said patients were being put at risk. In May, an Alabama-based company was hired to manage the sterilization department.

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Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/