Johns Hopkins Limits Use of Power Morcellators in Surgical Procedures

At a December conference of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, Johns Hopkins University announced that it will no longer perform hysterectomies or laparoscopies with power morcellators on women over 50 and has issued increased safety protocols for morcellations regardless of patient age. After conducting a review of over 400 patients who underwent uterine morcellation in the last nine years, including two women with occult malignancies, the hospital announced the halt of these procedures, which have been linked to the spread of uterine cancer. The remaining qualified candidates must be operated on by only the most experienced surgeons, who will now utilize endoscopy bags, performing endometrial sampling, and peer review cases before moving forward with the procedure.