Events

Recall of Synthes Connection Screw for Insertion of Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) Blade

According to New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, this recall involved a device in New Zealand that was produced by Synthes GmbH.

What is this?

A correction or removal action taken by a manufacturer to address a problem with a medical device. Recalls occur when a medical device is defective, when it could be a risk to health, or when it is both defective and a risk to health.

Learn more about the data here
  • Type of Event
    Recall
  • Event ID
    18463
  • Event Initiated Date
    2015-11-09
  • Event Country
    New Zealand
  • Event Source
    NZMMDSA
  • Event Source URL
    https://medsafe.govt.nz/hot/Recalls/RecallSearch.asp
  • Notes / Alerts
    Data from New Zealand is current through July 2018. All of the data comes from the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, except for the categories Manufacturer Parent Company and Product Classification.
    The Parent Company and the Product Classification were added by ICIJ.
    The parent company information is based on 2017 public records. The device classification information comes from FDA’s Product Classification by Review Panel, based on matches of recall data from the U.S. and New Zealand.
  • Extra notes in the data
    Recalling Organisation: Johnson & Johnson (NZ) Limited, 13a Gabador Place, Mt Wellington, AUCKLAND
  • Reason
    Complaints of the insertion screw breaking inside the blade implant during insertion. when the dhs blade connecting screw breaks inside the implant, it blocks the locking mechanism that is important for rotational stability (ensuring the bone fragments maintain anatomical reduction). in the event that the tip of the connecting screw breaks intraoperatively, the implant locking mechanism (for rotational stability) cannot be secured., if the fragment cannot be retrieved, rotational stability is compromised and the blade needs to be replaced or additional lag screws implanted. this may lead to prolongation of surgical operating time, bone damage and subsequent interventions such as a total hip arthroplasty. if the fragment cannot be retrieved and remains in the dhs blade in the patient, this could lead to an adverse tissue reaction since the connecting screw is not made of implant grade stainless steel.
  • Action
    Product to be returned to supplier

Device

Synthes Connection Screw for Insertion of Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) Blade
  • Model / Serial
    Model: Part Number: 03.224.007, Affected: 32 lots
  • Manufacturer
    Synthes GmbH

Manufacturer

Synthes GmbH