Patients and medical experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the problem of morcellation cancer, and how prevalent the risk may be.

The number of women reporting uterine cancer after power morcellation procedures has been high since these products were first released to market.

The FDA has especially stated its concern regarding hysterectomy procedures using power morcellation, due to the power morcellator devices disturbing previously dormant malignant tumors.

Many women opt for power morcellation procedures due to how accurate the surgical instruments are, and the fact that morcellation procedures are minimally invasive.

A minimally invasive surgery may reduce the hospital recovery time, but some women are often diagnosed with uterine cancer soon after their procedures.

Reduced recovery time was a primary selling point to women who were looking for a hassle free surgical procedures. However, a number of these women had found themselves contending with morcellation cancer.

One of the most often mentioned uterine cancers reported is leiomyosarcoma, or uterine sarcoma, an aggressive variant of the cancer that quickly spreads beyond the surgical site. Due to the number of power morcellation cancer reports, the FDA issued a public safety announcement in April 2014.

The agency discouraged physicians from using power morcellation to remove uterine fibroids in women, to reduce their likelihood of having any dormant cancer cells spreading.

There is currently no diagnostic screening method available to determine if women have leiomyosarcoma before the power morcellation procedure.

The agency estimated that one out of every 350 women undergoing power morcellation for uterine fibroids has undiagnosed uterine cancer.

Overview of Power Morcellation Cancer

Power morcellation devices consist of rotating blades, which are used to make small incisions in the abdomen and to cut up the uterine fibroids. Once the fibroids are cut up, they are then sucked through a small vacuum.

While this works well in removing the uterine fibroids, little bits of the fibroids spread through the abdomen and pelvis due to force of the propelling blades.

When these fibroid particles land on other tissues and organs, this allows for the potential rapid progression of cancer.

Uterine cancer itself occurs when the cells in the uterus to grow abnormally, but experts are unsure what exactly causes it.

However, experts have identified a number of risk factors that may increase the chances including: high estrogen levels, being over 40, obesity, and family history.

Experts state that women who are diagnosed with uterine cancer after power morcellation were most likely at Stage I of the disease due to the lack of symptoms.

After the procedure, Stage I can evolve into Stage IV very quickly due to the fibroid particles spreading throughout the abdomen and pelvis.

While experts are exploring different options in morcellation cancer prevention, experts have stated that a morcellation bag may significantly reduces the risk.

However this does not help the women who have already been affected by morcellation cancer and are contending with the diagnosis.

Patients or their loved ones may be eligible to file a power morcellation cancer lawsuit and should contact a specialized lawyer to determine if they have a claim.