The Recall Desk
HighFDA (Devices)·Z-2462-2018·Announced 2018-07-25

Ethicon Recalls Certain Prolene Sutures Due to Packaging Perforation Risk

Ethicon is recalling specific Prolene suture products because a packaging design issue allows needles to perforate the package, posing risks of soft tissue injury or infection.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: The recall is classified as FDA Class II, and the source describes potential for soft tissue injury and patient infection without reporting specific confirmed illnesses or injuries, fitting the 'High' severity criteria for risk-of-harm products where injury has not yet been reported.

Plain-English summary

Ethicon, Inc. is recalling 4,968 units of PROLENE SUTURE 36"(90CM) 3-0 BLU, D9844. The recall is due to a packaging design issue where the needle associated with certain suture product codes has the potential to perforate the packaging.

A perforated package has the potential to cause a soft tissue injury to a healthcare professional handling the subject product. Additionally, if the perforation goes unnoticed, a breach of sterility within the packaging could lead to a patient infection.

The affected products were distributed to accounts in AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MN, MO, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, and WV. Specific lot codes involved include KDQ180, KJH311, KKH758, KMP871, KPH811, LAH127, LAH648, LDP694, LHB945, LJE966, LMJ318, LMR835, MAH349, MBE216, MCQ994, MCQ537, and MCQ538. Healthcare professionals should check their inventory for these specific product codes and discontinue use if found.

The recalled product

Product
PROLENE SUTURE 36"(90CM) 3-0 BLU, D9844
Manufacturer
Ethicon, Inc.
Affected units
4,968

Distribution

Part of a larger recall action

This product is one of 19 recalled by Ethicon, Inc. under a single FDA (Devices) recall action. The agency files each product separately, so the size of the action is not visible from this page alone.

See all 19 products in this recall →