Detection of Uterine Sarcoma Not Possible, May Spread With Use of Power Morcellator

According to a recent study performed by Kaiser Permanente, it is impossible to determine if a patient has uterine sarcoma prior to a surgical procedure that has been linked to the further spread of this cancer. Published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynocology in December 2014, this research followed more than 3,500 women who underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy with a power morcellator from 2001-2012 to determine potential factors that could be used to identify uterine cancer, discovering the complete lack of such indicators. Estimates indicate that 1 of 350 women who undergo the nearly 50,000 morcellation operations each year have unidentified sarcoma. If laparoscopic power morcellators are used in women with uterine sarcoma, the procedure may spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, causing potentially life-threatening complications for patients.