Researchers conducted a study to determine which kinds of hysterectomy surgeries ran the greatest risk of severe side effects like endometriosis.

The findings of the study were recently presented at the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons’ 37^th Annual Meeting and were published in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

Endometriosis is a disorder affecting a woman’s reproductive organs and can occur after a hysterectomy. Tissue that normally lines the uterus (endometrium) instead grows outside the uterus and can be quite painful.

Dr. Mitchell W. Schuster and his colleagues involved in the case-control study compared women who had undergone a morcellator hysterectomy versus women who had transvaginal or abdominal hysterectomies, performed without morcellation.

Schuster and his colleagues found that 63 percent of patients who underwent morcellator hysterectomy surgery came away with newly diagnosed endometriosis. (This does not include any patients who were diagnosed with endometriosis prior to the morcellator hysterectomy surgery.)

In comparison, only 28.6 percent of patients who underwent non-morcellation hysterectomies were diagnosed with endometriosis. Though this is still a large percentage, it is less than half of the number diagnosed with endometriosis after a morcellator hysterectomy.

Schuster also realized that some of the patients who underwent a morcellator hysterectomy had to go through a repeat operation to control pain or bleeding. This happened with 2.9 percent of the morcellator hysterectomy patients, but did not occur with any of the others.

What is a Power Morcellator?

The power morcellator is a device used to remove fibroids in the uterus (myomectomy) or to assist in performing a hysterectomy. Power morcellators make extremely small incisions, which makes surgery go more smoothly for patients, and helps morcellator hysterectomy patients recover more quickly.

The power morcellator has been facing increased scrutiny in recent years due to allegations of spreading power morcellation cancer during surgery.

Power morcellation is a process by which unwanted tissue is cut and shred in the body cavity, so that it may be removed in smaller, more manageable pieces, which is why the device is so useful in a hysterectomy. However, reports of power morcellation complications associated with gynecological surgeries such as hysterectomies or myomectomies have been increasing in recent years.

Power Morcellation Cancer

In April 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a safety alert targeting power morcellator devices. The statement acknowledged that the morcellation procedure to remove fibroids in uterus could potentially spread cancer cells, undetected by the doctor.

According to reports, while the power morcellator is used to remove fibroids in uterus, it can also cut up surrounding tissue fragments that may be cancerous. Once these cancerous tissue fragments are cut, they are left behind at the end of the surgery. Left undetected in the patient’s healing body, these fragments are then able to spread to other parts of the body.

Most women develop these kinds of fibroids throughout their lifetime, but usually they do not cause symptoms. For other women, these fibroids can cause prolonged menstrual bleeding, as well as pelvic pain and other unwanted symptoms.

Once this information about the potential to spread uterine cancer came to light, the government began discouraging doctors from the use of morcellation procedure or morcellator hysterectomy. They also encouraged medical professionals to discuss the risks and benefits of such devices with their patients before operating.

According to the FDA, approximately 1 in 350 women who undergo these kinds of power morcellation procedures will have undetected uterine cancer that can spread to other parts of the body, taking root and becoming a potentially life-threatening cancer.

Power Morcellator Cancer Lawsuits

A growing number of people have begun filing power morcellator lawsuits, alleging a uterine cancer diagnosis after a morcellator hysterectomy or fibroid removal surgery that involved power morcellation. These plaintiffs allege that, had they been adequately warned about the potential dangers of power morcellation, they would not have agreed to the morcellation procedure.

If you or someone you know has undergone a surgery where a doctor has used a power morcellator, and have since been diagnosed with cancer, you may be able to file a power morcellation cancer lawsuit.