According to the National Institutes of Health, most women will develop uterine fibroids at some point in their lives. Sometimes, these fibroids become so problematic that a hysterectomy is medically necessary.

Many women who need to undergo a hysterectomy to remove uterine fibroids opt to have the procedure done via a laparoscopic power morcellator surgery. This surgery is one of several available treatments for uterine fibroids.

What is a Power Morcellator?

A power morcellator is a medical device 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 power 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 power morcellator to pulverize the tissue.

How Can a Hysterectomy Cause Cancer?

Because the power 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.

Sadly, the women who undergo this procedure may have no idea of the risks, and the cancerous cells are often not identifiable until after the surgery is performed.

The FDA estimates that one in 350 women undergoing a hysterectomy to remove uterine fibroids has uterine cancer cells, including those for an aggressive form of uterine cancer known as leiomyosarcoma. The use of power morcellator could spread the cancer, aggravate the condition and shorten their chances of survival.

Power Morcellator Side Effects

Essentially, the inherent risk of using a power morcellator is the dissemination of the broken-up tissue.

Benign tissue can become implanted on abdominal structures and organs, resulting in conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis, potentially requiring further surgery.

Furthermore, a power morcellator can spread malignant tissue from undiagnosed uterine cancer and significantly worsen a patient’s prognosis from treatable to deadly.

According to recent findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) one out of every 368 women treated with a laparoscopic power morcellator had unsuspected uterine cancer identified during or after their procedures.

The study indicated that medical records showed that morcellation, or the fragmentation of the uterus into smaller pieces, was performed in 36,470 cases and 99 of the women subsequently had uterine cancer diagnoses.

In addition, 26 other gynecologic malignancies were identified, along with 39 uterine lesions of uncertain malignant potential and 368 cases of endometrial hyperplasia.

FDA Discourages Use of Power Morcellator Devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety warning in April 2014 discouraging doctors from using power morcellator devices to remove uterine fibroids because of the risk of spreading undiagnosed cancer throughout the abdominal cavity.

Shortly after, Johnson & Johnson suspended sales of its power morcellator devices sold by its Ethicon division.

According to the FDA, doctors use power morcellator devices in thousands of laparoscopic hysterectomies a year and there is a significant risk for cancer development because of undiagnosed cancer that may spread after surgery.

A number of additional treatment options are available for women with uterine fibroids, including traditional surgical hysterectomy (performed either vaginally or abdominally) and laparoscopic hysterectomy without morcellation, as well as other non-surgical options.

Power Morcellator Cancer Lawsuits

A growing number of morcellator cancer lawsuits stem from the use of laparoscopic power morcellators in hysterectomy procedures and other gynecological surgeries.

Some doctors are still performing hysterectomies and uterine fibroid removals via uterine morcellation, despite the FDA warning.

According to a report published by The Wall Street Journal, these gynecologists believe that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is interfering with patient care, and that the agency is overstating the morcellator side effects associated with using the devices during a hysterectomy.

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