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This report is being supplemented to provide additional information based on the legal manufacturer's final investigation.A review of device history record and historical complaints analysis was conducted and there is sufficient evidence that confirms this is a well-understood failure mode, and therefore individual complaint investigations are not necessary.The device was returned to olympus for inspection, it is likely that the probe was contacting the non-insulated area (grasping section) during the procedure and force was applied to the h electrode causing the insertion portion to break.Based on the results of the investigation, the definitive root cause could not be determined.The event can be detected/prevented by following the instructions for use which state: "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, other instruments, or 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/split/protruding/partial separating of the tissue pad.In turn, the probe tip may break before displaying an error window or generating an alarm tone.During output, do not grasp or let the probe tip contact hard objects such as metal clips, stapler, or other instruments.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, which may lead to burns of the tissue by a high-frequency leak current output due to destruction of the insulation structure.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 that they are 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." olympus will continue to monitor field performance for this device.
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