Doctor Who Speaks On Behalf Of Power Morcellator Lawsuit Plaintiffs Has Cancer

October 14, 2015 – – Tracey & Fox have announced that Dr. Amy Reed, who has been leading the fight against power morcellator manufacturers along with her husband Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, has been diagnosed with a recurrence of her uterine cancer.

The mother of six began a public campaign in 2013, urging doctors to stop using the morcellator during gynecological surgeries. She herself had undergone a laparoscopic hysterectomy to treat uterine fibroids, only to be told after the procedure that one of the fibroids had encapsulated undetected leiomyosarcoma. She and her husband allege that the cancer was spread to other organs by the morcellator used during her surgery.

Dr. Reed announced recently that despite fighting the disease with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she has been diagnosed with a recurrence. Her doctors performed surgery on her back, removing a tumor and inserting two rods to stabilize the spine. Her family hopes this will be the only recurrence she experiences.

Although she hasn’t personally filed a lawsuit against any of the morcellator manufacturers, Dr. Reed has staunchly stood beside the more than 30 women who have pursued legal action against companies like Johnson & Johnson, Gyrus ACMI, Richard Wold GmbH, and Karl Storz GmbH. She and her husband hope that the progressing litigation will result in a total ban of the surgical tool across the United States.

The morcellator has been used by surgeons for decades, but it was only recently that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that they believed the device could potentially spread undiagnosed uterine cancer. In a safety warning published in 2014, the FDA stated that “If laparoscopic power morcellation is performed in women with unsuspected uterine sarcoma, there is a risk that the procedure will spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, significantly worsening the patient’s long-term survival.” They also estimated that as many as 1 in 350 women being treated for uterine fibroids also harbored undiagnosed uterine cancer.

Two weeks ago, the Judicial Panel on MultiDistrict Litigation met to hear arguments from both plaintiffs and defendants regarding the consolidation of all morcellator lawsuits. A decision has yet to be announced.

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Contact Tracey & Fox:

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

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