Power Morcellators Can Spread Deadly Cancers

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A power morcellator is a surgical tool that is used in laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgeries. The surgeon makes a small incision and inserts the device, which shreds the tissues of the target organ. The surgeon then uses suction to extract the small pieces of tissue from the small incision. The benefit of the power morcellator is that it allows people to recover more quickly and more easily after the procedure. These devices are used in approximately 60,000 procedures each year according to the FDA.

The danger lies in using power morcellators on tumors that were unable to be diagnosed as cancerous or were misdiagnosed, as shredding the tissue could help spread the disease. If that has happened to you or your family member, the Rocky McElhaney Law Firm is prepared to help. As a leading products liability law firm in Nashville, Knoxville and Hendersonville, we understand what you’re going through, and can help provide answers when you need them most.

What makes an electric morcellator a dangerous medical device?

In this instance it is not the medical device that is dangerous rather it is the circumstances under which the device is used that carries dangerous risks. In April 2014 the FDA issued a warning about the use of laparoscopic power morcellation in hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures. It warns that if power morcellation is used on women with an unsuspected uterine sarcoma, there is a risk that the procedure could spread the cancers within the abdomen and pelvis thus significantly lowering the patient's long-term survival. Medical researchers in Canada have published a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology that links the use of power morcellators in laparoscopic hysterectomies and myomectomies with a higher risk of uterine sarcomas and parasitic myomas.

The FDA now believes that this risk is higher than was previously understood. After they issued a safety alert on the increased cancer risk associated with power morcellation, some manufacturers suspended the sales of their power morcellator unit. Johnson & Johnson voluntarily withdrew their products from the market. The FDA is still studying the data to see if the initiation of a request that all manufacturers voluntarily recall their power morcellators from the market.