The husband of a South Carolina woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, just one of a growing number uterine cancer lawsuits involving power morcellators.

Plaintiff John O. alleges that a device manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary caused his wife’s cancer to be disseminated during a robotic partial hysterectomy. The complaint was filed on Feb. 3, following the death of Mrs. Cynthia O. due to the spread of a rare, malignant cancer called leiomyosarcoma.

Cynthia underwent a total laparoscopic robotic power morcellation hysterectomy and cystoscopy in October 2012. During this surgical procedure, a power morcellator made and sold by J&J’s Ethicon division was used to cut, shred, and remove three large uterine fibroid specimens and to partially morcellate her uterus. Prior to her surgery, there was no evidence that she suffered from any form of leiomyosarcoma cancer.

However, the morcellation device allegedly caused Cynthia’s undiagnosed leiomyosarcoma cancer to spread throughout her abdomen, increasing the cancer from its earliest (and most treatable) stage to its most deadly form. She subsequently died of leiomyosarcoma cancer in September 2014.

FDA Warning Against Power Morcellators

Laparoscopic surgery offer benefits for many patients being treated for benign uterine fibroid tumors (leiomyomas), such as allowing for shorter postoperative recovery time, reduced risk of infection, and less pain compared with more invasive abdominal hysterectomy and myomectomy. When laparoscopic hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures are performed with the assistance of a power morcellator, the morcellator cuts the tissue into small fragments that may then be extracted via a small incision.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an updated safety communication warning against the use of laparoscopic power morcellators during hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures in most women. The warning, released on Nov. 24, 2014, cites concerns that power morcellators “may contribute to the spread of occult gynecologic cancer cells” in female patients.

The FDA estimates that 1 out of 350 women who undergo hysterectomy or myomectomy for presumed uterine fibroids actually have unsuspected leiomyosarcoma, a malignant, cancerous tumor. When power morcellation is used during surgery, these women are at increased risk for development of dispersed cancer growth within the abdomen and pelvis, reducing the likelihood of long-term survival.

Power Morcellation Lawsuits

The power morcellation lawsuit accuses Ethicon of negligence, breach of implied warranties, loss of consortium and is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. A jury trial has been demanded. John’s wrongful death 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 or leiomyosarcoma following a minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery.

The Power Morcellation Lawsuit is Case No: 6:15-cv-00516-MGL, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Greenville Division.