Foulston Law Office Blog

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

DID YOUR CANCER SPREAD AFTER A SURGICAL PROCEDURE

Medical Device May Spread Cancer

  • During your fibroid surgery or hysterectomy your doctor may have inadvertently spread a hidden cancer throughout your body. Many women have hidden cancers in the uterus which cannot be determined until after surgery.
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that a popular medical tool used in laparoscopic surgeries, the power morcellator, has spinning blades that cut out tissue. When this happens, they can accidentally stir up tumorcells, and your cancer can move into other organs.
  • Although the FDA discourages doctors from using power morcellators and asks them to warn patients of this possibility, the device has not been recalled yet.
  • Many patients suffer from this problem because power morcellator procedures are thought to provide shorter hospital stays, lower infection rates, and quicker procedures. This is due to the small incision and shorter recovery time than a typical surgery requires.
  • And since it is difficult to diagnose cancer before surgery, the doctors are unaware that they are spraying dangerous tissue throughout your body cavity.
  • This speeds up the progression of your illness. The faster the cancer spreads and the more virulent it becomes, the more likely you are to die sooner.
  • Power morcellators are also used for renal and spleen surgery, and you can end up with tumors growing on other organs in these situations also.

 

Do Power Morcellators Spread Anything Besides Cancer?

  • Unfortunately, yes. In some cases, power morcellators can also spread uterine and fibroid tissue to other abdominal organs. This can cause infections or bowel obstruction. You may need additional surgery to remove these growths.

Ethicon / Johnson & Johnson Devices:

  • Gynecare Morcellex
  • Morcellex Sigma
  • Gynecare X-Tract
  • Diva

 Foulston Law is sensitive to the tragic consequences of surgeries performed with power morcellators. Thousands of women have been put at risk by the companies who made these devices, and Foulston Law is here to help.

 

 




Foulston Law Office assists clients in the State of Kansas with personal injury claims, and clients nationwide with medical device and prescription drug claims.



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