Anyone know of which staple gun is most used for DS surgery; the 'Ethicon stapler, or the 'Endo Gia Universal Auto Suture', or other brands...?
Wondering if there may be a class action suit against the manufacturer of any of these staple guns?

Why do you ask? Do you know something?

Lisa

Only from when you were relating your story. Have you googled it yet?

Not sure about a class action suit, but there have been plenty of cases about misfired staplers, and the brand seems to be irrelevant.

Well, here is something about the ethicon stapler, 

Ethicon Stapler Side Effects May Be Linked To Personal Injury Lawsuits

but it is at a website that looks like a bit of an ambulance chaser. Doesn't mean there's no fire with that smoke though.

There are actually lawyers that pull up as "surgical staple lawyers". Kline and Spector. It's worth a look at thier page just because of some of the data they put there. 

If I recall, you had surgery in a military hospital, and there is this case about a guy who had a botched surgery from a staple misfire in a military hospital.

There HAVE been cases won from staple gun misfire. Here is at least one;
Specialty: Surgery
Location: Harrison County, Mississippi
Year: 2006
Settlement
Amount of this claim is: Average 
Practitioner Comments:
42 year old male underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery with an intraoperative stapler misfire. The ensuing injury created by the stapler was unable to be repaired requiring a longer-than-usual hospitalization and a delayed reoperation. Settlement covered medical charges related to both operations and hospitalizations.




I think this comment was left by the lawyers in the first link I gave you, 

"Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc’s gastric bypass stapler may have left many with injuries that include staple line disruption, infection, and other serious complications, even death, following gastric bypass surgery. This particular stapler is likelier than most to misfire versus others on the market, causing significant injury to patients that also include bleeding, dehiscence (separation of areas that are stitched or stapled together), anastomotic leakage, hernia, hemorrhage, leaks from staple lines, sepsis, and re-operation. This site has some good information and options: http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Ethicon-Stapler" at this page.

I'd like to know where they get this.

And here's a case where the poor guy died after gastric bypass from the stapler misfiring.


I don't know if there is anything here useful for you or not, but I'm learning from poking around on Google. I did think way back when you first posted that there were issues with your surgery that it was something I would discuss with an attorney if it were me.

Very interesting - I know someone *****cently had VSG and the staple gun misfired and lacerated her spleen. Luckily the surgeon was able to save her spleen but she had a rough surgery and recovery. This is in Canada though, so it won't be a part of that class action. I'll let her know though incase she wants to look into it.

I've worked in several OR's in a coupleof states. The decision of which brand to be used is based on a few things. Cost is pretty much the winning factor. Most hospitals have contracts with suppliers and they are pretty much always going to go with the lowest cost. HOWEVER, surgeons who are picky and demand one product over the other can tell a hospital that they will take all their business and go to another hospital that will give them the brand they want. This usually doesn't work though because the low bid at one place is usually the low bid everywhere. And it is pretty hard for a surgeon to leave one hospital and go to another completely...their customers/patients won't like it either. Here in Omaha, as most cities, there are several hospitals that are part of a "system" of hospitals, and in those cases it's even harder for a surgeon to request a specific brand because the big hospital system has even more power and get even better deals.
Out of the 4 different hospitals that I worked at, the most common staplers? Ethicon. Auto Suture was used at one place for only one Dr. and that was just because he was one of the early patent holders with Auto Suture because he helped develop the instruments with them. 
Lisa

That's interesting!  Thank you for posting.

Thanks for the replies & Bearmom some great info - I had been looking around on google also. I am waiting on a return call from an attorney - already spoke to their law firm's intake nurse. It seems that many times the case is dropped with the staple gun manufacturer blaming 'the doctor'. I believe my doctor probably saved my life after the malfunction of the staple gun that was used during my surgery.