Dollars, Not Sense, Drive Morcellator Safety Advocates

As power morcellators continue to come under fire for spreading unsuspected uterine cancers, a shocking conflict of interest has been uncovered.  According to information discovered by The Wall Street Journal, a group of surgeons who have recommended morcellator use to physicians may be biased. In its May 2014 report, The AAGL, a group of surgeons formerly known as the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, promoted that the use of morcellators “remains safe when performed by experienced, high-volume surgeons.” It was later exposed that one of the AAGL’s executive officers, a prominent surgeon at Columbia Medical Center, had in fact accepted more than $50,000 in speaking engagements and other services from Blue Endo, a retailer of morcellator devices. While the FDA updated morcellator safety precautions in November 2014, the device remains in use – possibly due in part to the fact that its safety has been unethically promoted.