An Arkansas man is suing Ethicon Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging that the power morcellator used during surgery caused the cancer that led to his wife’s death.

Plaintiff Larry P. alleges that his wife’s death from an aggressive form of uterine cancer was a direct result of Ethicon’s power morcellator device.

According to the power morcellator lawsuit, Larry’s wife Kimberly P. developed uterine fibroids and needed to have them removed to prevent further complications. Her physician performed the procedure in 2011 using a Gynecare Morcellex, a power morcellator device manufactured by Ethicon.

For a time, power morcellators were the preferred tool for procedures like Kimberly’s. The devices allow normally complicated laparscopic procedures to be done with comparative ease, cutting down on surgery time and hospital recovery time.

While Kimberly’s surgery was successful in treating her uterine fibroid, it allegedly led to a devastating new diagnosis. Some time after the surgery, Kimberly started exhibiting unusual symptoms. After undergoing a battery of diagnostic tests, in 2013 she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer.

Kimberly’s diagnosis showed that the cancer was already at a latent stage. Kimberly had few treatment options at that stage and died from uterine cancer in 2014.

Overview of Power Morcellator Complications

Unfortunately, Kimberly was not alone in developing uterine cancer after undergoing surgery with a power morcellator. Experts explain that when physicians use the devices to shred and remove tissue from inside a woman’s body, the procedure can shred and release cancerous cells if the woman has an undiagnosed uterine sarcoma.

There is currently no way to diagnose uterine sarcoma before women undergo power morcellator surgeries. When the sarcomas are ruptured, as they are with power morcellator surgery, cancer cells release into the patient’s body at a rapid rate, aggressively spreading through the lower pelvic region.

Due to the severe risk of this complication, a number of hospitals have stopped using the devices.

While the FDA and medical community are now aware of the risks, information about power morcellator cancer came too late for Larry and Kimberly. According to Larry’s lawsuit, the defendants failed to inform him, his wife, and their physician of the potential complications associated with their power morcellator, despite allegedly knowing of the risks for years.

Larry insists that his wife would not have agreed to use the defendant’s power morcellator device if she had known of the uterine cancer risks.

For being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous product, Larry is suing Ethicon Inc. The charges include negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Power Morcellator Lawsuit is Larry P. v. Ethicon Inc., Case No. 6:15-cv-06100-SOH, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Hot Springs Division.