Crack-Prone Scissors May Burn Patients, Da Vinci Maker Says

Medscape

Intuitive Surgical, the embattled manufacturer of the da Vinci robotic surgical system, warned customers last week that certain versions of its cautery scissors may develop microcracks that could leak electrical energy and inadvertently burn tissue.
The instrument in question, EndoWrist Hot Shears Monopolar Curved Scissors, is used to cut and coagulate tissue in a wide variety of procedures, including hysterectomy, prostatectomy, and gastric bypass. The scissors and other EndoWrist instruments are made exclusively for use with the da Vinci Surgical System, consisting of a console from which a surgeon manipulates instruments attached to robotic arms while viewing the procedure in 3 dimensions. Some 2000 systems are installed at US hospitals......