Surgical Staples

After surgical procedures, surgical staplers and staples are often used to close incisions and to reconnect parts of organs, including the bowels and lungs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed 41,000 medical device reports concerning surgical staplers and staples between January 1, 2011, and March 31, 2018, and discovered that the medical devices are linked to serious complications, including:

• 366 deaths
• More than 9,000 serious injuries
• More than 32,000 malfunctions

Because of those dangers, the FDA wrote and published a letter to healthcare providers in March 2019 warning them about the potential risks associated with the use of surgical staplers and staples during and after surgical procedures.

Malfunctioning Devices, User Error Linked to Injuries and Death

When healthcare providers use surgical staplers and staples on patients internally during or after surgeries, both user error and malfunctioning staplers are a possibility. Reported problems associated with user error and malfunctioning staplers include:

• Opening of staple lines
• Malformation of staples
• Difficulty in firing
• Misfiring
• Failure of staplers to fire staples
• Misapplied staples

What Types of Injuries Are Caused by Surgical Staplers and Staples?

Both user error and malfunctioning staplers can cause surgical procedures to be prolonged to correct misapplied staples. In some cases, patients may even require surgical interventions and revision surgery to repair damage caused by surgical staplers. Patients who experience poor outcomes with these devices may experience the following complications:

• Bleeding
• Sepsis
• Fistula formation
• Tearing of internal tissues and organs
• Sealing of untargeted tissues
• Increased risk of cancer recurrence
• Death

Injured by Surgical Stapler or Staples? You Deserve Compensation.

Multiple parties may be liable when surgical staplers or staples cause patients to suffer injuries, including the healthcare providers who used the devices and the manufacturers of the devices.

Our law firm will investigate your surgical stapler or staple-related injury, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you get the compensation you’re owed. Contact us today for a free consultation.

This law firm is not associated with, sponsored by, or affiliated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cases may be referred to another attorney or law firm.