The family of a Missouri woman has filed a power morcellator lawsuit, alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit caused cancer to be disseminated during a robotic hysterectomy, in which its power morcellator was used.

The power morcellation lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on Dec. 3, 2014 following the death of Ms. Carl M. due to the spread of a rare, malignant cancer called leiomyosarcoma.

Carl underwent laparoscopic power morcellation surgery in December 2012 at which time an Ethicon Gynecare morcellator was used to allow the doctors to remove the uterus and fibroid laparoscopically.

However, the device allegedly caused undiagnosed uterine cancer to be disseminated throughout her peritoneal cavity, turning the cancer from its earliest, and most treatable stage, to its most deadly metastatic form. She subsequently died of metastatic uterine cancer in August 2014.

What is Morcellation?

Laparoscopic power morcellation is one of several available treatments for uterine fibroids. It is a procedure that uses a medical device to divide the uterine tissue into smaller pieces or fragments so it can be removed through a small incision in the abdomen, during laparoscopic surgery.

Gynecologists use power morcellators when they perform laparoscopic procedures such as a hysterectomy or a myomectomy in which they remove uterine fibroids. Power morcellators have rotating blades that break large tissue masses into small fragments. Broken down tissues are then vacuumed away and out of the body.

The inherent risk of laparoscopic power morcellation 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.

However, while doctors can diagnose most forms of cancer before an operation, a rare form, called leiomyosarcoma or uterine sarcoma, may mimic the appearance of benign uterine fibroids in medical imaging and is often undetectable in preoperative testing.

FDA Warning About Power Morcellation Uterine Cancer Risk

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that approximately one in 350 women who are undergoing hysterectomy or myomectomy for fibroids have an unsuspected type of uterine cancer called uterine sarcoma.

If laparoscopic power morcellation is performed in these women, there is a risk that the procedure will spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, significantly worsening the patient’s likelihood of long-term survival.

The FDA has recommended that manufacturers of power morcellators include a “boxed warning” on their products’ labeling and detail specific cases in which their devices should not be used.

Morcellation Lawsuits

The power morcellation lawsuit accuses Ethicon of negligence, breach of warranty, strict liability, fraudulent misrepresentation and omission, negligent misrepresentation, and violation of Missouri consumer protection laws, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

The power morcellator lawsuit joins a growing number of similar power morcellation lawsuits that are now being pursued on behalf of individuals nationwide diagnosed with disseminated uterine cancer following a minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery.