Saint Mary's Hospital surgeries resume after sterilization scare

The surgery schedule at Saint Mary's Hospital in Montreal's Cte-des-Neiges neighbourhood is returning to normal after the discovery of improperly sterilized equipment last week led to cancellations and delays.

The hospital reported Friday that non-orthopedic urgent surgeries had resumed, andorthopedic urgentsurgeries would resume by Friday at 4 p.m.

• St. Mary's Hospital investigating surgical equipment sterilization problems

Thefull range of elective surgeries willresume next week.

In a news release, the hospital said it would be contacting patients whosesurgeries had been cancelled or postponed to reschedule them.

It saidthat preliminary findings of an internal investigationattributed the problem to an "imbalance inone of the steps of the sterilization process."

Residue foundon the improperly sterilized equipment was determined to be non-bacterial and inert and posed no health risk to patients.

The hospital assured the public that its sterilization equipment is fully functional and that all surgical instruments are being sterilized.

St. Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital associated with McGill University. It is part of the Montreal West Island integrated health and social services centre.