Power Morcellator Caused Spread of Terminal Cancer, New Lawsuit Claims

After two years of battling leiomyosarcoma, an aggressive form of uterine cancer, a New York woman succumbed to her fight in October 2014. She was first diagnosed with the cancer soon after her hysterectomy procedure included use of a power morcellator, a surgical tool designed to grind up and remove uterine tissue.  The patient and her husband filed a lawsuit in May 2014 against the manufacturer of the device, Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, claiming that the company was aware of the risks associated with the device disseminating cancerous cells that were previously undetected.