Morcellation, the controversial procedure used in minimally invasive hysterectomies, is the focus of a wrongful death lawsuit.

A Pennsylvania widower is alleging that a power morcellator manufactured by LiNa Medical caused his wife’s cancer to spread, which ultimately led to her death.

The alleged victim in the case, a 53-year-old mother of two, underwent uterine fibroid surgery in 2012 as part of a hysterectomy, and was subsequently diagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine sarcoma. The woman had no symptoms of metastatic cancer before the surgery, and developed leiomyosarcoma just nine days later, according to the morcellation cancer lawsuit.

The plaintiff alleges that LiNA Medical knew, or should have known, that its power morcellator could spread undetected cancer cells during fibroid removal surgery, and failed to warn patients about this risk.

Specifically, the power morcellator lawsuit claims the woman’s cancer was “seeded” by the morcellator’s rotating cutting blades, causing malignant tissue to rapidly spread to other parts of her body.

Additionally, the morcellation cancer lawsuit alleges that LiNA promoted its morcellator as a safe option for gynecologic procedures, which includes about 10 percent of the more than 600,000 hysterectomies performed each year in the United States.

What is a Power Morcellator?

Power morcellators are medical devices used in minimally-invasive gynecological surgeries. In a hysterectomy, surgeons are able to remove fibroids and tissue either vaginally or laparoscopically. During the procedure, doctors make several small incisions in the abdomen and use the morcellator to break up the tissue until it is small enough to be extracted.

For some women, the need for a hysterectomy is caused by the presence of uterine fibroids. Doctors target these fibroids for removal during the surgery, using the morcellator to pulverize the tissue.

Because the morcellator essentially pulverizes the cancerous cells so the uterus will fit through the smaller incision in the abdomen, those cancerous cells can spread as they are being removed when they come in contact with other organs.

Power Morcellator Lawsuits

The FDA estimates that one in 350 women undergoing a hysterectomy or myomectomy to remove uterine fibroids has uterine cancer cells, including those for leiomyosarcoma, and the use of power morcellation could spread the cancer, aggravate the condition, and reduce their chances of survival.

If you underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy or myomectomy and later developed uterine cancer, you may be eligible for compensation through a morcellation cancer lawsuit.