A morcellation cancer lawsuit has been filed by a Pennsylvanian widower alleging that his wife’s untimely death was caused by the use of a Johnson & Johnson power morcellator.

Plaintiff Arthur J. filed the power morcellator cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon after his wife Jonel died within months of having a hysterectomy procedure that used a power morcellator to grind and remove uterine fibroids.

After the medical procedure in June 2012, the morcellated tissues were found to have cancer cells. Despite a cancer screening before the hysterectomy, Jonel was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, which is a soft tissue cancer.

According to the power morcellator lawsuit, the completely undetected uterine sarcoma fibroids were grinded into small pieces and quickly began to spread.

Arthur says in his morcellation cancer lawsuit that following the operation it was found that the cancer spread from the uterus to the right fallopian tube and despite efforts of continuous monitoring, Jonel died in February 2013.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned surgeons that using power morcellators for hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures can spread unsuspected uterine cancer quickly.

The federal agency claims there is no “reliable method for predicting or testing whether a woman with fibroids may have a uterine sarcoma” before surgery. The FDA has since recommended that morcellation use is too risky to be considered a safe fibroid treatment.

A recent study found that one-in-350 women who use a power morcellator during a hysterectomy or myomectomy procedure are eventually diagnosed with uterine sarcoma.

Morcellation Cancer Risks

Power morcellators are a medical device used in hysterectomies to provide patients with a short post-operative recovery time when compared to traditional abdominal hysterectomies.

The medical devices were fast-tracked through the FDA approval process to be used in less invasive laparoscopic procedures.

However, due to growing evidence of a link between using power morcellators and uterine sarcoma, the FDA has issued a “black box” warning on all new and existing devices. This is the strongest caution the federal agency will give before the FDA will remove the product from the market.

FDA Power Morcellator Warnings

The FDA issued a recent report addressing power morcellator concerns and recommended the following actions:

• Physicians are encouraged to limit the number of times power morcellators are used by carefully considering “available alternative treatment options for the removal of symptomatic uterine fibroids.”
• Patients are asked to confirm with physicians if they are planning to use a power morcellator during a laparoscopic hysterectomy or myomectomy and ask if there are other options available.

After the FDA warnings, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily pulled their power morcellator devices off the market until more research could confirm the link between uterine cancer and the medical tool. 

Morcellation Cancer Lawsuits

Hundreds of morcellation cancer lawsuits have been filed by women and their families.

Arthur claims that he and his spouse were never warned that power morcellator use could cause serious health risks.

He alleges Johnson & Johnson ignored years of studies that showed the medical device was unsafe but failed to change issues that may have minimized the cancer risks involved.

The Power Morcellator Cancer Lawsuit is Case No.  2:15-cv-00553-JHS in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.