A bereaved mother recently filed a power morcellator lawsuit against Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. (KSEA), alleging that the manufacturer designed, made, and marketed a defective medical device that ultimately caused her daughter’s death.

Plaintiff Gail S., a Florida resident, filed the power morcellator lawsuit on behalf of her deceased daughter, Karen S., who underwent a laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy in January 2011.

Surgeons used the Storz morecellator during the surgery to shred and remove Karen’s uterus. Karen had not been diagnosed with cancer prior to her surgery, and all mammograms and pap smears were normal.

Karen was only diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma after the procedure, when surgical pathology confirmed the presence of cancer in the morcellated tissue.

According to Gail’s morcellation cancer lawsuit, the power morcellator disturbed the uterine sarcoma and disseminated the cancer, “thereby upstaging the cancer from a highly survivable or curable stage I disease to a poor prognosis stage II-IV disease.”

Karen endured radiation treatment and additional surgeries, and ultimately succumbed to the cancer.

In general, uterine sarcoma cannot be diagnosed without surgery, so Gail’s power morcellator lawsuit claims that when the devices are used in laparoscopic gynecology surgery, they pose a large risk to the woman undergoing the surgery.

The morcellation cancer lawsuit claims that the defendant manufacturer was aware of the risks of spreading undiagnosed cancer, but failed to provide adequate warnings to patients and physicians.

The Morcellation Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 8:15-cv-02253-SDM-JSS in the U.S District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

Power Morcellation Cancer Risks

Power morcellators are medical devices used in minimally invasive surgery (also called laparoscopic surgery). In gynecological surgery applications, morcellators are used for hysterectomies and to remove uterine fibroids.

A small incision is made, and the mocellator is inserted, targeting the uterus or fibroids and breaking them down into very small pieces that can easily be removed through the small surgical opening.

As in Karen’s case, the morcellators sometimes attack tissue that turns out to be cancerous, and the device breaks up the cancerous cells and spreads them to other parts of the uterine cavity. The cancer can then metastasize and spread quickly throughout the body.

FDA Warning on Power Morcellators

The FDA has issued a “Black Box” warning on all power morcellators, which is reserved for the most risky medications and surgical devices. Along with the black box warning, the FDA said that one out of every 350 women who undergoes surgery for uterine fibroids may have previously undetected cancer.

These women have a substantial risk for developing a disease with potentially fatal outcomes after a relatively minor surgery. This risk could be greatly reduced if power morcellators simply were not used.

Many hospitals no longer use power morcellators, and a number of insurance companies will no longer cover morcellation because of the risks involved. Johnson & Johnson, the largest manufacturer of morcellators, pulled their product from the market in 2014.

Morcellation Cancer Lawsuit Information

If you or a loved one was diagnosed with cancer following a morcellation surgical procedure, you may have a legal claim. A morcellation cancer attorney will review your case at no charge and can advise you on your legal options.