The use of morcellation to treat uterine fibroids and perform hysterectomies has become increasingly common since the first devices used in the procedures were approved in 1993. More than 20 years later, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns to surgeons because of the link to cancers.

In the case of Donna Burkart, the churning of the tissue by the device allegedly allowed cancerous tissue to travel throughout the body, increasing the likelihood of metastases in other organs. It is similar in concept to what could happen if a water spout occurred in the middle of an oil spill, spreading it to other parts of the ocean.

As a result of the procedure, the uterine morcellation class action lawsuit attorney acting on behalf of her husband, plaintiff Scott Burkart, alleges Donna Burkart was diagnosed with sarcomas roughly a week later. She died in February 2013, less than a year after the surgery. The cancer has a 15 percent to 25 percent five-year survival rate, according to medical experts, but the morcellation surgery lawsuit alleges that the companies that made the devices did so “without adequate testing of its danger to humans.”

Unlike other plaintiffs who may file a uterine morcellation surgery lawsuit, Burkart’s husband names numerous device makers including Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. That is not because they were all used during the hysterectomy. The hospital has refused to release information regarding which power morcellator was used.

Ethicon announced it would stop selling the power morcellators because of the link to cancerous tissue being spread throughout the body. It is unclear whether other manufacturers will follow.

The uterine morcellation surgery lawsuit is Scott Burkart v. LiNA Medical US, et al., Case No. 14-cv-01557, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.