California Woman Files A Power Morcellator Lawsuit On Behalf Of Her Mother

September 23, 2015 – – Tracey & Fox has reported that the daughter of a deceased woman in California has filed a lawsuit against a power morcellator manufacturer Karl Storz Endoscopy.

On January 27th, 2014, the mother underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy to treat her uterine fibroids. Her surgeon used a power morcellator sold by Karl Storz to cut and shred the uterine tissue.

The power morcellator is a surgical tool that is a hollow tube through which cutting jaws and a grasping device can be inserted into the body cavity. This tool is often favored by surgeons because it allows patients to undergo minimally invasive procedures and gives them a shorter recovery time.

The morcellator is frequently used in gynecological surgeries such as hysterectomies and myomectomies. The majority of these procedures are recommended as a treatment for uterine fibroids. While many uterine fibroids are just benign growths, the FDA now estimates that 1 in 350 women who undergo a hysterectomy or myomectomy are also harboring undetected uterine cancer.

The mother of the plaintiff, in this case, was one of these women. Shortly after her surgery she was informed that one of the uterine fibroids her doctor had shredded contained epithelioid leiomyosarcoma. The complaint alleges that, “In cutting, shredding, and fragmenting the uterus and fibroids while still within her, the Storz Morcellator disseminated and seeded LMS cancer throughout her abdominal cavity thereby causing and accelerating the metastases and spread of her cancer, worsening her long-term prognosis and the natural course of her cancer.”

She chose to be treated with aggressive chemotherapy, but sadly the cancer rapidly spread. By April of 2014, she was found to have widespread metastatic LMS in her abdominal cavity and her lungs. She elected to enter into hospice care in May and passed away on June 9th, 2014.

Her daughter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, which states that “At all times relevant herein the Defendants promoted the Storz Morcellator as a safe and effective tool for its intended use, including the treatment of uterine fibroids. The Defendants knew or should have known of the risks of power morcellation for the treatment of uterine fibroids, including the risk of disseminating, seeding, and upstaging uterine cancer outside the uterus.”

This lawsuit is just one of many which all allege that a power morcellator spread undetected uterine cancer. In light of recent findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published a safety warning which urged doctors to reconsider the use of a morcellator during gynecological procedures. It also required that all morcellators be sold with a “black box” warning. This warning reads, “WARNING: Uterine tissue may contain unsuspected cancer. The use of laparoscopic power morcellators during fibroid surgery may spread cancer, and decrease the long-term survival of patients. This information should be shared with patients when considering surgery with the use of these devices.”

For more information regarding this press release, call Tracey & Fox at (713) 322-5375.

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Contact Tracey & Fox:

Sean Tracey
713-495-2333
440 Louisiana Street , Suite 1901
Houston, TX 77002

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