Megadyne has recently received reports of 63 injuries (and counting) related to their MEGA 2000 and MEGA SOFT Reusable Patient Electrode devices.[1] The list of reported injuries is mainly comprised of severe burn injuries, being as serious as third-degree burns requiring medical intervention. As a result of these burns, patients may be forced to endure longer hospital stays, scarring, and potentially further surgeries.[2] Megadyne is currently investigating the root causes of these patient injuries.
Megadyne Medical Products is a Utah-based medical device company that was acquired in 2017 by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a unit of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
As part of its listed medical devices, Megadyne manufactures the MEGA 2000 and MEGA SOFT Reusable Patient Electrodes. These medical devices have soft pads that conduct an electric current and are used to heat the patient’s skin in order to cauterize incisions and stop patient bleeding during surgery.[3] The electric current is generated by an electrosurgical generator and is delivered to the tissue with a small pen-like attachment. A return electrode pad is then used to conduct the electric current from the patient’s tissue back to the electrosurgical unit, or generator.[4]
On June 1, 2023, Megadyne sent an Urgent Medical Device Correction letter to customers recommending the following actions:
Share the notification with all users involved in MEGA 2000 and MEGA SOFT Reusable Patient Return Electrodes cleaning, operating room and patient setup, and device operation during procedures.
The letter also noted that health care providers who have used MEGA 2000 and MEGA SOFT Reusable Patient Return Electrodes during patient procedures should follow patients post-operatively in the same way with no additional action required related to the correction.[5]
Later that month, Megadyne recalled 21,200 units of the Electrode Pads which were distributed between March 11, 2021, and May 9, 2023.[6]
If you or a loved one has been impacted by one of the listed Megadyne medical devices, please contact the New York attorneys at Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP for a free consultation today. Our experienced team has over 50 years of experience with product liability and medical malpractice cases.
[1] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12288567/FDA-issues-recall-surgical-tools-Johnson-Johnson-KILL-patients.html
[2] https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/megadyne-recalls-mega-2000-and-mega-soft-reusable-patient-return-electrodes-risk-serious-burn
[3]https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/megadyne-recalls-mega-2000-and-mega-soft-reusable-patient-return-electrodes-risk-serious-burn
[5] https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/megadyne-recalls-mega-2000-and-mega-soft-reusable-patient-return-electrodes-risk-serious-burn
[6] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12288567/FDA-issues-recall-surgical-tools-Johnson-Johnson-KILL-patients.html