Philadelphia Product Liability Lawyers Discuss Dangers of Power Morcellators

Power Morcellators have been discovered to spread cancerous tissue.  Power Morcellators were designed to allow easier removal of fibroids by grinding up tissue and required less invasive surgeries. However, 1 in 350 women with uterine fibroids also have uterine sarcomas, a condition that is difficult to detect before surgery. Power morcellators spread this tissue in the process of removing fibroids, leading to the spread of sarcomas from a localized cancer to a more widespread cancer.

The FDA first announced the risk of power morcellators spreading cancerous tissue in April 2014, and in November of the that year required companies to issue stronger warnings about the risks. Although the devices are still in use in some places, Johnson and Johnson initiated a voluntary recall of them in July of 2014.

Four companies are named in a lawsuit by 21 plaintiffs against device makers. These companies include Johnson and Johnson, Karl Storz GmbH, Richard Wolf GmbH.

In one such case, a woman underwent a hysterectomy at a New Jersey hospital in October 2014. She had previously had no evidence of cancer, but after the operation she developed lesions throughout her body and has stage IV cancer.

The FBI has opened an investigation to determine what morcellator makers knew of the tools risks before it was pulled from the market. The industry had underestimated the risks involved with morcellators, calculating that 1 in 10,000 patients who underwent the procedure were at risk, but the number could be much higher.

For more information, call Philadelphia product liability lawyers at Galfand Berger at 800-222-8792 or contact us online.