FirstAlerts

FDA expands Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator lead recall

The FDA has expanded a recall of Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator leads, now covering Infinion CX, Spectra WaveWriter, and WaveWriter Alpha devices.

3 reports on this incident · first at Sep 4, 2026, 10:53 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Sep 4, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ETWritten Sep 4, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded a recall of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) lead kits, according to a report by Medical Device Network. The expanded recall now includes the Infinion CX, Spectra WaveWriter, and WaveWriter Alpha brands. The action follows reports of linked to the devices, the outlet reported. The FDA said the leads may be subject to mechanical stress at the anchor site, which could result in high impedance measurements or lead fractures. The agency has advised that . The cause of the reported injuries has not been determined.

Earlier reports

  1. Sep 4, 2026, 10:56 a.m. ET

    FDA reports 1,081 serious injuries tied to Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator leads

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported 1,081 serious injuries and no deaths associated with Boston Scientific's Infinion CX leads, according to Medical Device Network. The leads are part of the company's spinal cord stimulator (SCS) system.

    The FDA identified a hazard involving mechanical stress at the anchor site, which may result in high impedance measurements or lead fractures. The agency has advised that all unused Infinion CX leads be removed from where they are used or sold.

    The affected products include the Infinion CX, Spectra WaveWriter, and WaveWriter Alpha brands. Boston Scientific is the firm associated with these devices.

  2. Sep 4, 2026, 10:53 a.m. ETFirst report

    FDA warns of Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator lead risks

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert concerning certain spinal cord stimulator (SCS) leads made by Boston Scientific, according to a report by Medical Device Network. The affected products are the Infinion CX, Spectra WaveWriter, and WaveWriter Alpha lead kits, used with the company's SCS system. The FDA reported 1,081 serious injuries and no deaths associated with these devices.

    The alert cites mechanical stress at the anchor site as a potential issue, which may lead to high impedance measurements or lead fractures. As a remedy, the FDA has advised that all unused Infinion CX leads be removed from where they are used or sold.

    The FDA's action is based on reports of injuries; the underlying cause of the mechanical stress has not been determined.

Was this report accurate and useful?

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 14 Sept 2026, 15:00current

    First published.

  2. Version 14 Sept 2026, 14:53current

    First published.

  3. Version 14 Sept 2026, 14:56current

    First published.

How we work

This site models an investigative reporter rather than a wire desk. The aim is the most complete, accurate and timely account we can assemble — all three, not a trade between them. Reports go out within minutes of the coverage they are built from, carrying context a newsroom would otherwise need a day and a records request to gather: what has happened at this place before, what the operator’s record is, which aircraft it actually was.

Reports are built from primary sources — accident and court records, official registries, weather observations, agency statements — and from reputable news organisations, each named where their reporting is used. Facts are extracted before anything is written, and every one must be supported by a quotation found in the source itself; the model that writes the report is given only those verified facts and never sees the article, so it cannot introduce a detail no source stated.

Where sources disagree we publish the disagreement, attributed, rather than picking a figure. Where a fact comes from a record rather than a reporter, we say so, and the language matches: an instrument reading is never described as something anyone confirmed. Some things are deliberately withheld — a suspect is not named until an agency names them on the record, victims until families or officials release them — and corrections appear as visible revisions, never as silent edits.

None of that makes a report true. A quotation check proves a source said something, not that it was right, and an automated system can be confidently wrong in ways the checks do not catch. If something here is wrong, the feedback above is how it gets found. The full methodology, including what we refuse to publish.