TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa General Hospital has discovered the cause of instrument discoloration that forced a number of elective surgeries to be cancelled last week. That cause determined, the hospital will resume normal operations, according to a released statement.

TGH claims the problem was a combination of too many natural minerals in the sterilizing steam and being too aggressive in the use of cleaning chemicals.

The hospital installed filters for the minerals, along with changing their cleaning process and products. Test results showed the changes resolved the issue, according to spokesman John Dunn. 

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for The Agency for Health Care Administration in Florida said the agency is reviewing the discolored instruments problem at TGH. A complaint with the Joint Commission was also filed.

The discolored surgical instruments forced TGH to cancel a number of elective surgeries last week. Dunn has refused to say how many surgeries were cancelled or how much money the problem cost the hospital, which was first discovered on November 1.

Teresa Kiernan said the surgery cancellations were a nightmare for her family. Kiernan rushed her husband William, 69, to the emergency room last Monday because he was in a lot of pain. Test results showed that William needed gallbladder surgery, which Kiernan said was cancelled multiple times over a three-day period.

“Tuesday came and they told us he was going into surgery. He hadn't eaten anything all day and then they said, 'no, we're doing you on Wednesday,’” she said. “Wednesday came around and waiting, they said, 'yes, you're going to be taken at 2:20.' 2:20 passed, 3:20 passed, we're now almost 5 o'clock and they come in and they say it's cancelled."

Kiernan said her husband finally had his surgery on Thursday after she threatened to pull him out of TGH and go on the record with us about the problem.

"In the beginning, someone came in and said they were 'dirty instruments' and they didn't want to use them because they were afraid to use them, and then later on the story changed and said they were 'discolored' and because they were discolored they thought maybe they had bacteria on them," she said.

“But then when they checked it, they said, ‘no, it was still sterile and they were good to be used,’" she continued. "So, I don't know. I just think there's a lot of misinformation… and it snowballs and you have this domino effect that it hurts everybody."

According to TGH, test results on the discolored surgical instruments showed they were free of any infectious agents and were sterile. Dunn said those instruments were never used on any patients. 

Dr. Randy Shuck, a family medicine doctor who ran the residency program at St. Petersburg General Hospital, said he would not perform a surgery with discolored instruments.

“In the end, if I were doing the surgery it needs to be pristine. There has to be no doubt in my mind. There has to be no question,” Shuck said. “The patient should have no question. The staff should have no question. So, that we walk in and it’s perfect, because it has to be, we don’t get a second chance.”

A multi-disciplinary hospital team unanimously made the decision to resume a normal surgery schedule after several days of additional instrument testing showed no adverse findings, according to TGH.