Fifteen morcellator cancer lawsuits have been consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation in a federal court in Kansas.
In an order filed on Oct. 15, the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established a multidistrict litigation consisting of claims against Ethicon Inc., the manufacturer of power morcellators used in laparoscopic gynecological surgery.
Plaintiffs in these morcellator cancer lawsuits generally allege that the power morcellator used during their hysterectomy or uterine fibroid surgery caused an aggravation of previously undetected cancer.
The MDL will be overseen by Judge Kathryn H. Vratil of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Future morcellator cancer lawsuits against Ethicon will be transferred into this MDL.
Ethicon is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, who is also named as a defendant in some of the transferred morcellator cancer lawsuits.
Morcellation Cancer
Power morcellators are surgical devices used to remove larger masses of tissue through smaller incisions used during laparoscopic surgery. It lets patients undergoing hysterectomy or myomectomy enjoy the advantages that laparoscopic surgery has over open abdominal surgery: shorter recovery time, smaller scars, less pain, less loss of blood, and reduced risk of infection.
The problem with power morcellators that has created so much recent controversy is the possibility that morcellation can inadvertently spread previously undetected cancerous tissue throughout the body, causing the cancer to progress and upstage.
The risk is a particular problem for patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery. By one estimate, about one out of 350 women undergoing uterine fibroid surgery has a uterine sarcoma. Uterine sarcomas themselves are difficult to diagnose – a uterine biopsy may only detect about 30 percent of sarcomas, and magnetic resonance imaging may also fail to reveal the cancer.
In April 2014, the FDA issued a warning about the risk of morcellator cancer. The agency recommended that doctors and patients take that risk into consideration before deciding to use a power morcellator. The FDA followed up that warning a few months later with a new and stronger warning to be included in the labeling for power morcellators.
Ethicon has since taken its morcellators off the market and encouraged doctors to stop using them. Other companies are still making and selling their own models, however.
One patient whose cancer was aggravated after morcellation has become an advocate for stronger protection against morcellation cancer. Amy R., herself a doctor, was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing uterine fibroid surgery using a power morcellator. She has since had to undergo several rounds of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Recently her cancer was discovered to have recurred in her spine.
Amy says that more action taken sooner could have prevented her own situation and that of hundreds of other women. She and her husband say they have spoken with FBI investigators about the device. Amy’s husband, who is also a doctor, says they began contacting the FBI in late 2013 and eventually got a response from agents in New Jersey. The FBI is reportedly now investigating what Johnson & Johnson knew about the risks involved in power morcellation.
Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The morcellation cancer attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, morcellator cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.
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If you or a loved one were diagnosed with cancer in the uterus, pelvis or abdomen within two years of undergoing surgery for a myomectomy (removal of fibroids), hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), or salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes), you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify by filling out the short form below.
An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.
- First Name*
- Last Name*
- Street Address
- Apt. #
- Zip Code*
- Phone*
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- Approximately how long ago did you/your loved one have surgery to remove uterine fibroids?*
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Less than 1 year
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1-2 years
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2-3 years
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3-5 years
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5+ years
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- What were you/your loved one diagnosed with?*
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Uterine cancer
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Endometrial cancer
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Ovarian sarcomas/cancer
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Parasitic myomas
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Leiomyomatosis
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Endometriosis
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Adenomyosis
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Fibroid/uterine tissue growth on other organs requiring surgery
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No diagnosis/injury
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Other cancer (please specify in additional information box below)
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- What year were you/your loved one diagnosed?
- ¿Necesita un orador español?
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- Additional Comments:
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Yes
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