Patients who seek medical care assume that their doctors have the proper tools to care for them. While there are countless tools that doctors can use that don’t have ill effects on patients, there are some that can kill them. When a procedure or device is associated with risks, the patient must be told of the dangers and then consent to the procedure with those risks in mind.
One device that has proven especially deadly is the power morcellator. This device was used frequently up through a black box warning issued by the Food and Drug Administration in 2014 to remove fibroids from the uterus. It was also used in hysterectomies.
New developments are forthcoming
In recent news, one of the main advocates for victims of power morcellator issues, Dr. Amy Reed, died of cancer. The increased rate of cancer in women who had this procedure done was one of the primary concerns that led to the black box warning, which states that power morcellation isn’t appropriate in the vast majority of cases.
Dr. Reed suffered from leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, which was spread around her abdominal cavity during the morcellation procedure. She didn’t have knowledge of having any cancerous cells in her body prior to the surgical procedure.
Another recent development is that an Olympus subsidiary recently settled a case for an undisclosed amount. This case revolved around a woman who had power morcellation during a hysterectomy in 2010 using the Olympus KS PlasmaSORD. She was later diagnosed with myxoid leiomyosarcoma due to the blades of the morcellator flinging cancerous cells around her pelvis and abdominal cavity. This woman is still living.
Patients should be concerned and carefully monitored
Patients who had surgery using a power morcellator should be concerned. This dangerous device was used from 1985 through 2014 frequently. The surgery sounded like a good idea. It was touted as a way that women could have a minimally invasive laparoscopic to minimize pain and recovery time. Sadly, the decision to have this procedure is now causing some women to die.
If you had a procedure using a power morcellator, you should be monitored carefully for signs that there are problems. If you find out that you have cancer associated with power morcellators, you might opt to pursue compensation via a product liability claim. This won’t stop the medical problems from occurring, but it can facilitate financial means to cover your medical bills and other expenses during this troubling time.
