Knee Surgeries Resume After 3 Strange Deaths
Elective knee operations have resumed in Minnesota, a week after being halted because of the mysterious deaths of three patients.
Five knee operations were scheduled at St. Cloud Hospital, where two men, 23 and 78, died Nov. 11 after surgery. A 60-year-old man died Nov. 16, three days after having surgery at Douglas County Hospital, about 70 miles from St. Cloud.
A toxin from the bacterium Clostridium sordellii, was found in the youngest victim. The toxin is fatal when introduced into a wound.
It has not been determined if the others had the bacterium.
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