Smith & Nephew BHR Square-Headed Nail Recall: Risk of Nail Head Detachment During Surgery
Smith & Nephew recalls BHR Square-Headed Nails (Catalog 999908) used in orthopedic surgery due to risk of nail head detachment during procedures. Affected items have specific lot codes.
Use caution until it’s fixed
The nail head may become detached during surgery.
Contact the company
What happened, in plain English
Smith & Nephew recalls certain orthopedic surgery nails that may detach during procedures. This could lead to complications for patients undergoing surgery. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/62208-smith-nephew-bhr-square-headed-nail-recall-risk-of-nail.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/62208-smith-nephew-bhr-square-headed-nail-recall-risk-of-nail · Updated August 19, 2026 · FDA enforcement record: FDA #Z-2242-2021
Cite this page
“Smith & Nephew BHR Square-Headed Nail Recall: Risk of Nail Head Detachment During Surgery.” GovInfoNow, updated August 19, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/62208-smith-nephew-bhr-square-headed-nail-recall-risk-of-nail. Based on FDA recall #Z-2242-2021 (https://api.fda.gov/device/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22Z-2242-2021%22&limit=1).
Why it’s dangerous
The nail head may become detached during surgery, potentially causing injury to the surgical site. This could lead to complications requiring additional medical intervention.
Who’s affected
Orthopedic surgeons and surgical teams using the recalled nails during procedures. Patients undergoing surgery with these nails are at risk of complications.
How to tell if you have this one
Check for catalog number 999908 on the nail packaging. Affected items have lot codes 20LW15962 or 20LW15963.
- Brand
Smith & Nephew- Category
Medical device
What to do — step by step
Check Product Lot Code
Look for lot codes 20LW15962 or 20LW15963 on the nail packaging.
Where it went and when
Where it was distributed
Distributed nationwide, and outside the U.S.
FDA distribution: “Worldwide distribution - US Nationwide distribution and the countries GB, NO, CA, AU & NZ.” 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 terminated this recall 2.8 years after the firm started it.
- Firm started the recall
- FDA classified it Class II
- Published in FDA’s Enforcement Report
- FDA terminated the recall
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
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Where this comes from
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-2242-2021 (July 14, 2021) — FDA publishes no per-recall page; this is the official machine-readable enforcement record. Search FDA recalls for Z-2242-2021 to see it in context.
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on August 19, 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.