Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow within the wall of the uterus. One study shows that by age 50, more than half of all American women had fibroids. While fibroids don’t necessarily have to cause any problems, they are capable of causing pain. When they do cause pain or when the number of fibroids is very high, doctors may recommend getting a hysterectomy – a surgery to remove the uterus.

The FDA recently warned the nation about a popular type of surgery that is commonly used for both the removal of uterine fibroids (known as a myomectomy) and hysterectomies. The FDA’s safety communication notice discouraged doctors from using laparoscopic power morcellation for these two procedures.

Most people know laparoscopic surgery as minimally invasive surgery or keyhole surgery. It’s when doctors perform surgery through small incisions in the abdomen. The doctors place surgical instruments in the incisions and then can view what they are doing via TV monitors. A morcellator is a surgical instrument used for removal of large masses of tissues. So in this case laparoscopic power morcellation refers to the procedure of when a doctor performs minimally invasive surgery on a woman, using the powered morcellator to remove her uterine fibroids or uterus.

The FDA issued this warning due to an unintended outcome of these surgeries. “Based on an FDA analysis of currently available data, it is estimated that 1 in 350 women undergoing hysterectomy or myomectomy for the treatment of fibroids is found to have an unsuspected uterine sarcoma, a type of uterine cancer that includes leiomyosarcoma. 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 likelihood of long-term survival. For this reason, and because there is no reliable method for predicting whether a woman with fibroids may have a uterine sarcoma, the FDA discourages the use of laparoscopic power morcellation during hysterectomy or myomectomy for uterine fibroids.”

Johnson & Johnson is currently being sued for their role in laparoscopic power morcellation surgeries. A recent report indicates that Johnson & Johnson were notified of the potential risks for this surgery to spread cancer EIGHT YEARS before an FDA warning lead Johnson & Johnson to suspend the sale of their morcellator products.

Women who developed Uterine Cancer, Stomach Cancer or Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) after undergoing Fibroid Removal or a Hysterectomy may be eligible for compensation.  Don’t let your valuable legal rights expire – request a free case review by visiting:

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