This report is being supplemented to provide additional information based on the legal manufacturer's final investigation.The lot was not provided, and the manufacture date cannot be identified since the subject device was not returned.The device history record was unable to be reviewed for this device since the serial number was not provided.However, olympus only releases products to market that meet all manufacturing specifications and final product release criteria.Based on the results of the investigation, the exact cause of the event couldn¿t be exclusively identified.However, based on the past investigation results, the probe broken was possibly occurred due to contact with a surgical instrument or the non-insulated area of grasping section.The detailed mechanisms are shown below.1.During output in seal & cut mode, the probe came in contact with hard tissue, metal or a surgical instrument.Consequently, a scratch was made on the probe.2.The probe received an output load in seal & cut mode or received a load when grasping tissue.As a result, the probe cracked from the scratch.3.The probe broke when added load.1.The distal end of the tissue pad was worn away because ¿seal & cut¿ output was activated while grasping nothing (including the case the user kept activating after cutting tissue).2.The tissue pad was worn away, causing the non-insulated of the grasping section to touch the probe.3.¿seal & cut¿ output was activated under this situation, then the scratches indicating that the probe and grasping section were in contact with each other were made.4.The probe received an output load in seal & cut mode or received a load when grasping tissue.As a result, the probe cracked from the scratch.5.The probe broke when added load.The event can be detected/prevented by following the instructions for use which state: do not activate output in seal & cut mode while the grasping section is closed without contacting tissue or vessel, or ensuring that tissue is transected.Otherwise, a local increase of the temperature due to a friction between the probe tip and the grasping section may result in various forms of damage in the probe tip and/or the tissue pad, such as premature wear, breakage, deformation, and/or falling off inside the body cavity and/or partial separating.When cutting and vessel sealing is performed in seal & cut mode, apply light tension on the tissue so that users can confirm it is transected.Also, stop activation immediately after tissue is transected.Otherwise, the grasping section, the tissue pad, or the probe tip may break and fall off, and partial separating of the tissue pad may occur due to a local increase of temperature caused by the friction between tissue pad and the probe tip during activation.The thunderbeat instrument should be used for soft tissue.Do not activate output while grasping hard tissue such as bone or highly calcified tissue, or hard objects such as metal clips, stapler, or other instruments (e.G., uterine manipulator, forceps, and others).Otherwise, it may cause the probe tip to be scratched or come into direct contact with the metal area of the grasping section as the heat generated by the friction between the hard object and the probe tip could cause wear/deforming/splitting/protruding/partial separating of the tissue pad.In turn, the probe may break before displaying an error window or generating an alarm tone.Do not grasp or let the probe tip contact hard objects such as metal clips, stapler, or other instruments (e.G., uterine manipulator).Also, be careful to avoid contacting the probe tip with those accidentally.Particularly during activation, a scratch on the probe tip could occur due to ultrasonic vibration, which leads the probe tip to break and fall off into the body cavity.In addition, the high-frequency (rf bipolar) current flows through the metal and generates spark discharge, which may cause burns and decrease functionalities.Olympus will continue to monitor field performance for this device.
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