Some elective surgeries in Minn. delayed amid hurricane-related shortage of medical fluids

Some elective surgeries were canceled in the Twin Cities on Monday after hurricane damage caused a manufacturer of intravenous and sterile fluids to shut down a plant in North Carolina late last week.

M Health Fairview postponed all elective outpatient procedures and inpatient nonurgent surgeries on Monday that required sterile or IV fluids. The health system said in a statement that it may cancel procedures later in the week, depending on its evaluation of fluid supplies.

Affected patients will be notified directly, the statement said. “Rescheduling and delaying surgeries are decisions we do not take lightly, and we understand the impact it has on our patients.”

Allina Health similarly cancelled some nonemergency procedures, including Tuesday’s scheduled removal of a benign tumor from the arm of 67-year-old Fred Frauenfelder at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. The Elk River man received a call Friday afternoon to verify the surgery, then another call two hours later to say it was canceled without a rescheduled date.

“It really affects me when I’m sleeping, and then there are other pains with it,” Frauenfelder said of the tumor, called a lipoma. “I was really looking forward to [having it removed].”

Supplies of IV fluids started drying up nationwide after Baxter closed its North Carolina manufacturing plant last week and started limiting resupply orders. The manufacturer reported Friday that stormwater from Hurricane Helene was “permeating the facility” and that a key bridge providing access to the plant was damaged. Hundreds of workers sought to build a temporary bridge this weekend to get the plant operating.

Shortages included saline, which among other things is used to irrigate surgery sites, manage fluid levels and prevent dehydration in patients. Also in short supply was dextrose solution, which manages blood sugar levels and reduces surgical complications.

Some health systems were unaffected. Duluth-based Essentia Health reported no shortages Monday. Robbinsdale-based North Memorial Health likewise reported no delayed procedures, but said in a statement “that could change as we assess the effectiveness of our conservation strategies.”

The Minnesota Hospital Association said hospitals statewide were affected, because the Baxter plant manufactures about 60% of the domestic supply of sterile IV solutions. The association convened hospital leaders to discuss strategies to weather the temporary shortage.

Its parent organization urged President Joe Biden and the Food and Drug Administration to declare a national shortage that would allow health systems to prepare their own IV solutions and distribute them locally. The American Hospital Association also requested an extended shelf life on IV products nearing expiration.

“Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done,” said Rick Pollack, the AHA’s chief executive.

Frauenfelder awoke Monday like usual — way too early and with sharp pain that forced him to snooze upright in an armchair. He was trying to make the best of the delay, squeezing in an extra round of golf after thinking surgery was going to end his season. The procedure had been scheduled nearly a month ago.

“They have not given me any time frame or anything,” he said. “I guess I’ll just sit and wait. Who knows how long it’s going to be.”

Allina in a statement said the delays are necessary to preserve supplies for patients with the most urgent needs, and that it would “work to prioritize rescheduled procedures as soon as we are safely able to do so.”