A New York woman has died from leiomyosarcoma just months after filing a lawsuit with her husband against Ethicon Gynecare Morcellex, the company she alleged was responsible for her cancer in the first place. The deceased plaintiff originally claimed in the Ethicon lawsuit that the power morcellator used during her robotic hysterectomy helped spread the cancer throughout her body.

Plaintiff Brenda Leuzzi underwent uterine fibroid removal surgery during a hysterectomy in September 2012 during which an Ethicon power morcellator was used. Leuzzi states in the Ethicon power morcellator cancer lawsuit that she was not diagnosed with cancer before beginning the robotic hysterectomy. Leuzzi was later diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a malignant (cancerous) tumor often found in the uterus or abdomen that is especially dangerous once spread. If the cancer is contained in the uterus or abdomen, the survival rate significantly increases.

However, according to Leuzzi and other plaintiffs in power morcellator cancer lawsuits like her own, it was the power morcellator which caused the cancer to spread from the uterus to the rest of the body through the abdomen.

About Power Morcellators

Power morcellators allow doctors to remove the uterine fibroids through a small incision in the abdomen. Sometimes, there are cancerous cells already inside the uterus that are then spread throughout the body by the morcellator tool.

The power morcellator method has many medical experts concerned due to the apparent rise in uterine cancer among patients. Many doctors suggest that the power morcellator risk is too great and that they should not be used in surgery.

Uterine fibroid removal is a common surgery, and many women have turned to power morcellators for the surgery which are supposed to be minimally invasive. Power morcellators have been promoted as a safer method for laparoscopic hysterectomies and myomectomies opposed to the traditional hysterectomy method, which includes a longer recovery time.

Leuzzi’s lawsuit (filed in May 2014) and death (October 2014) strongly suggests that power morcellator manufacturers like Ethicon should provide warnings of the cancer risks associated with their product.

FDA Warnging: Power Morcellator Cancer FDA

Just before Leuzzi filed a power morcellator lawsuit, the FDA issued a warning in April that encouraged doctors to stop using power morcellators for uterine fibroid removal surgery due to the risk of cancer being unintentionally spread throughout the body. It is estimated that one out of every 350 women who have uterine fibroid removal surgery have undiagnosed cancer. Since doctors (and patients) do not, and generally, cannot know about the cancer beforehand, power morcellator use should be avoided or used cautiously, some experts warn.

Ethicon recalled their power morcellator product months after Leuzzi filed her lawsuit and even stopped making the product all together. It is expected that George Leuzzi, the plaintiff’s husband, will add a wrongful death claim to the power morcellation cancer lawsuit previously filed.

Many women have allegedly developed uterine cancer after undergoing robotic fibroid removal surgery using a power morcellator. Power morcellator lawsuits have been filed by women across the country who claim they never would have agreed to use power morcellators for this surgery had they been aware of the potentially deadly cancer risks. A morcellation class action lawsuit investigation is underway.