Power Morcellator Lawsuit From Missouri Alleges Device Spread Cancer Cells From Fibroid

December 02, 2015 – – Tracey & Fox reports on another lawsuit which has been filed on behalf of a deceased woman by her family. The suit was filed in Western Missouri against Ethicon, the manufacturers of the power morcellator device used in this plaintiff’s surgery. It alleges that the power morcellator used during the woman’s uterine fibroid removal and hysterectomy caused the uncovering and spreading of previously undetected cancer cells. This spreading, the family alleges, created a high-grade and aggressive cancer which was ultimately the cause of the woman’s death.

Ethicon, just one of many power morcellator manufacturing companies, is a subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Since being named in an increasing number of lawsuits, Ethicon has ceased all manufacturing of their power morcellator devices and has even recalled those currently on the market.

Details of this specific lawsuit state that the Missouri woman underwent surgery with a laparoscopic power morcellator in order to remove uterine fibroids that had developed and were causing her pain. The morcellator is designed to use small, whipping blades to shred the fibroid tissue so that it is able to be removed from the body. As it does this, however, many plaintiffs now allege that it can also uncover cancer cells encapsulated in those fibroids, and spread the cancer cells outside of the uterine walls and around the body. This process allegedly accelerates the cancer and greatly threatens the life expectancy of the patient. In this particular case, the woman was given a fatal cancer diagnosis after surgery, and died due to metastatic uterine cancer less than two years later.

As many who have experienced similar outcomes allege, the family states that if the cancer cells had not been disseminated by laparoscopic power morcellation, the cancer would have remained encapsulated within the uterine fibroid, and the cancer may have responded to treatment before it spread.

As lawsuits have increasingly appeared alleging that laparoscopic power morcellation during uterine fibroid surgeries can cause the spread of cancer, the United States Food and Drug Administration also issued a safety warning concerning the topic. They stated that their estimates showed that around 1 in every 350 women who undergo gynecological surgeries with a laparoscopic power morcellator may have undetected cancer within their uterine fibroids. The FDA suggested that most women should refrain from undergoing power morcellation procedures of these types, due to the risk of spreading uterine sarcomas.

Current lawsuits surrounding power morcellation have now been consolidated to form multidistrict litigation. This consolidation is designed to help litigation move forward more smoothly. It avoids duplicate discovery and different rulings from multiple judges, and also conserves the resources of those involved.

As these cases await trial, the attorneys at Tracey & Fox are helping to ensure that everyone who has undergone laparoscopic power morcellation and who has subsequently been diagnosed with cancer has the opportunity to explore their legal rights. These women and their families may be entitled to significant compensation. The attorneys at Tracey & Fox are offering free power morcellation legal consultations.

To obtain additional information on power morcellation and cancer, or to ask questions, please call the attorneys at 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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