After Cardinal Health warned customers that some of its surgical gowns may not be sterile, Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network canceled some elective surgeries Jan. 16, a health system spokesperson confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review.
Cardinal Health has placed a hold on the affected Level 3 surgical gowns and the PreSource procedural packs that contain the gowns and said it will o initiate a voluntary product recall.
Allegheny Health decided to reschedule "a small number of elective, nonurgent cases across the entire network," a spokesperson told Becker's via email.
About 12 surgeries were canceled and rescheduled. The eight-hospital system performs more than 300 procedures daily.
Allegheny Health said it does not expect its surgery schedule to be interrupted today, as it was able to get other sterile surgical gowns.
Cardinal Health is working with the FDA to address the quality issues.
"We recognize the criticality of our gowns and procedure packs to performing surgeries, and we apologize for the challenges this supply disruption will cause," the company said in its letter to customers. "Cardinal Health puts the safety of patients and healthcare workers first."