October 13, 2014 — Gyrus ACMI has been hit with a lawsuit from a woman who was diagnosed with cancer after being treated with the company’s power morcellator, a surgical tool used to grind up fibroids during uterine surgery.
The woman, Lisa Nielsen, filed the lawsuit (PDF) last week in federal court in California. She says she was treated with the Gyrus power morcellator during a hysterectomy in Carmichael, California. Unfortunately, she had undiagnosed cancer at the time.
One year later, doctors discovered seven cancerous tumors in her abdomen. Nielsen underwent surgery to remove the tumors, chemotherapy, and continues active monitoring for new tumors.
Nielsen recently discovered that the cancerous cells existed in fibroids before she was treated with the Gyrus morcellator. She believes the device spread cancerous cells throughout her abdomen, greatly worsening her long-term prognosis.
The lawsuit alleges the Gyrus knew or should have known about the risk of disseminating cancer. The device-maker is accused of failing to adequately warn doctors and patients. According to the complaint:
“Nielsen was never warned prior to her hysterectomy that there was any chance that he ‘fibroids’ could be cancerous, nor that using the Gyrus Power Morcellator in the hysterectomy brought any chance of spreading cancer.”
In April 2014, the FDA warned against the use of power morcellators in uterine surgery due to the risk of spreading undiagnosed cancer. In a Safety Communication, the agency estimated that 1 in 350 women who chooses to have surgery to treat fibroids actually has undiagnosed cancer. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to determine if a fibroid is cancerous until after the tissue is removed from the body.
Do I have a Power Morcellator Injury Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting laparoscopic power morcellator induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with cancer after a hysterectomy, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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