Defending patients from the new ‘superbug’

Jim Leonardo

09/01/2010 at 4:00PM

When news surfaced in August that a new strain of bacteria highly resistant to antibiotics was reportedly linked to cosmetic surgery clinics in India and Pakistan, it raised concerns for both plastic surgeons and patients.

Though the origin of the so-called ‘superbug' was ultimately linked to medical tourism in general rather than any particular specialty, members of the ASPS Patient Safety Committee say the bacteria could be neutralized through simple hygienic procedures - such as hand washing and general clinic and O.R. prophylaxis methods - already instituted in U.S. hospitals and accredited surgical centers.

"This is a situation that absolutely calls for observing the general principles to which we all should adhere - hand-washing, as well as contact isolation for anyone with known, resistant organisms and the appropriate disposal of anything that's come into contact with tissue, fluid or specimens," says ASPS Patient Safety Committee Chair Loren Schechter, MD. "Also, we should pay extra attention to prophylaxis when introducing implantable devices into patients."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three cases of NDM-1 have been detected in the United States - with all three patients having received medical care in India. The journal Lancet also noted Aug. 11 that several patients who traveled to Pakistan had tested positive for the gene upon their return to the United Kingdom.

"We know that medical tourism is dramatically increasing," says American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (AAAASF) Vice President-elect Geoffrey Keyes, MD. "An estimated 500,000 procedures will be performed on medical tourists in the coming year. One reason might be that our domestic insurance companies seem to be encouraging this."

"This is the best evidence that patients have before them, to consider ASPS members first and foremost for aesthetic and reconstructive surgery," Dr. Schechter adds.

For more on this story, read the September issue of Plastic Surgery News.