Power morcellators are devices that cut up tissue in order for it to be removed minimally invasive surgeries, such as laparoscopic hysterectomies and myomectomies (uterine fibroid removal).

For years, women have taken advantage of the reduced down time that these minimally invasive procedures offer, but few have known that power morcellators can spread undetected cancer cells.

Johnson & Johnson has begun settling lawsuits they have faced due to their power morcellators’ ability to seed cancer cells.

How Do Power Morcellators Spread Cancer?

A power morcellator looks like an electric screw driver with blades on the end. The surgeon inserts the blades into a few small incisions so that it can reach the fibroids, shredding the tissue that is subsequently vacuumed out of the remaining cavity.

The problem is that small pieces of uterine or fibroid tissue can sprinkle throughout the abdomen and pelvis as tiny pieces are sprayed from the spinning blades. Where the little pieces of tissue land, they can adhere and seed new growths.

Imagine taking a hand mixer out of the bowl of cookie dough in the midst of it being on the highest blend setting and watching the bits of cookie dough fly and land all over you and the surrounding area. That is how a power morcellator spins out tissue, with no control over where it will land inside the abdominal cavity.

Even if the tissue is benign, the end-game growths can cause bowel obstruction, pain or infection. If the tissue bits are cancerous, then the foisted pieces can seed more cancer where they landed.

Undetected Cancer Can Become Stage IV Quickly

If a woman has undiagnosed cancer of the uterus in stage I prior to obtaining a procedure using a power morcellator, that cancer can accelerate to stage IV cancer very quickly because the cancerous cells are dispersed throughout the abdomen as the blades spin the shredded matter.

Of all uterine cancers, leimyosarcoma is the most aggressive, and although it is only found in one percent of patients with cancer of the uterus, the tumors are highly metastatic, which means they spread quickly and easily.

The five-year survival rate for women with metastic leiomyosarcoma is estimated from four to 16 percent. This lethal cancer allegedly has been spread through abdominal cavities by power morcellation.

The FDA states that undetected leiomyosarcoma exists in approximately one of every 350 women who have a fibroid removal procedure.

Many women who have had power morcellation devices used to remove their uterus or fibroids were not told they could be at risk of spreading undetected cancer.

Lawsuits accuse Johnson & Johnson of knowing their power morcellators were responsible for spreading diseased tissue to other parts of the body where possibly deadly cancer could take root and spread. However, the company made no attempt to warn doctors or consumers of the potential threat, plaintiffs claim.

Johnson & Johnson has pulled the power morcellators off the market, but is still facing and settling class action lawsuits from women who have suffered after the device was used on them in a procedure.