Stop using nowMedical device recall · FDA · Published April 22, 2025
Ethicon Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload: Risk of instrument lockout during surgery
Ethicon recalls Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload for Advanced Placement Tip (35mm, 4 row) due to risk of instrument lockout during surgery, which may cause bleeding, delay, or life-threatening hemorrhage.
Firm has received an increase in reports regarding inadvertent instrument lockout during surgical procedures involving the device. If lockout occurs, the device will momentarily activate but will not cut or staple tissue, and additional steps will be required to open it and remove it from tissue. If user is unable to remove the device from the tissue, potential harms to patient include surgical delay, bleeding/hemorrhage, life threatening hemorrhage/hemorrhagic shock, and conversion to open therapy. Two adverse events received, including one patient death.
Take action
Contact the company
📍Recalling firmEthicon Endo-Surgery Inc4545 Creek Rd · Blue Ash, OH 45242-2803
“Ethicon Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload: Risk of instrument lockout during surgery.” GovInfoNow, updated August 18, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/52432-ethicon-endopath-echelon-vascular-white-reload-risk-of-instrument-lockout. Based on FDA recall #Z-1746-2025 (https://api.fda.gov/device/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22Z-1746-2025%22&limit=1).
The FDA announced on April 22, 2025, that Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc is recalling the Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload for Advanced Placement Tip due to a risk of inadvertent instrument lockout. The device may fail to cut or staple tissue during surgery, potentially causing bleeding or patient death.
How to tell if you have it
Brand: Ethicon
Product: Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload for Advanced Placement Tip (35mm, 4 row)
The device may experience inadvertent instrument lockout during surgical procedures, causing it to momentarily activate without cutting or stapling tissue. If the device cannot be removed from the tissue, potential harms include surgical delay, bleeding, hemorrhagic shock, and conversion to open therapy. Two adverse events have been received, including one patient death.
Context
GovInfoNow's records show Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc has issued 12 other recalls since October 23, 2017. Recent brand recalls include the September 11, 2025, recall of ECHELON LINEAR Cutters Reload 80mm Blue for unsterilized risk and the December 11, 2023, recall of ECHELON 45mm Staple Reloads for incomplete tissue stitching. Other recent recalls of similar products include the April 22, 2026, Intuitive Surgical Da Vinci Surgical System Recall for E-Brake Pin Risk and the March 3, 2026, Wilson-Cook Instinct Plus Endoscopic Clipping Device Recall for potential malfunction risk.
How to tell if you have this one
Check for the product code VASECR35 on the packaging. The device is sold under the brand Ethicon and has specific batch numbers listed in the recall notice.
Brand
Ethicon
Product
Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload for Advanced Placement Tip (35mm, 4 row); Product code VASECR35
Category
Medical device
Based on the official FDA remedy
What to do — step by step
Stop using it now
Immediately stop using the Endopath Echelon Vascular White Reload (35mm, 4 row) device if it is locked out during surgery.
Where it went and when
Where it was distributed
Distributed nationwide, and outside the U.S.
Nationwide
Not listed
FDA distribution: “US distribution nationwide. OUS distribution to EMEA, LATAM, APAC, and Canada.” States read from FDA’s own wording; “not listed” means the notice does not name it.
Distributed nationwide, and outside the U.S.
Recall timeline
FDA published this recall 36 days after the firm started it.
1Firm started the recall
2FDA classified it Class I
3Published in FDA’s Enforcement Report
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official FDA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
Official source: FDA Recall #Z-1746-2025 (April 22, 2025) — FDA publishes no per-recall page; this is the official machine-readable enforcement record. Search FDA recalls for Z-1746-2025 to see it in context.
Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on August 18, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the FDA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official FDA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.