Since this petition was launched in the fall of 2013, the serious health consequences potentially associated with uterine morcellation have caught the attention of both the media and federal health regulators.
New York, New York (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
A petition launched nearly one year ago that seeks to ban the use of power morcellators (http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com/) in gynecological surgeries has logged more than 82,000 signatures, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to figures from Change.org, at least 82,156 people have signed on to the campaign, which is being spearheaded by a Massachusetts doctor whose wife was diagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine sarcoma following a hysterectomy that involved the use of a power morcellator.*
“Since this petition was launched in the fall of 2013, the serious health consequences potentially associated with uterine morcellation have caught the attention of both the media and federal health regulators. It is doubtful that the issue would have ever received the scrutiny it deserved without this effort,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is now offering free morcellator lawsuit reviews to women who may have experienced the spread of undiagnosed uterine sarcoma and other cancers due to uterine morcellation.
Power Morcellators and Cancer
Power morcellators are used in minimally-invasive hysterectomies and fibroid removals to cut up tissue so that it can be easily removed through a small abdominal incision. According to a recent CBS News report, the Change.org petition was launched by Dr. Hooman Noorchashm after his wife, Dr. Amy Reed, was diagnosed with stage four leiomyosarcoma, a rare but aggressive form of uterine cancer, following a morcellation procedure she underwent last October to remove fibroids. The couple told CBS that new postings are added to the petition daily by women and their loved ones who have allegedly suffered because of morcellation.**
In April, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned that use of power morcellators in gynecological procedures could spread undetected uterine cancer cells throughout a woman’s body. According to the agency, roughly 1 in 350 women with fibroids has uterine sarcoma cells within that tissue, and upstaging of the disease via morcellation greatly reduces a woman’s chances for long-term survival.
In July, as part of its ongoing review of uterine morcellation, the FDA convened a meeting of outside advisors to discuss the procedure’s risks and benefits. During the proceeding, the panel members heard emotional testimony from a number of cancer patients and their loved ones, many of whom urged the FDA to ban power morcellators. Drs. Noorchashm and Reed were among those who testified at the hearing.***
Shortly after the FDA meeting, Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, Inc. unit issued a morcellator recall for three devices because of the uncertainty surrounding their safety.**** And just last month, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, both Democrats from New York, sent a letter to the FDA asking that it impose a ban on uterine morcellation.******
Alleged victims of uterine sarcoma or other cancers spread via power morcellation may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. To learn more about filing a morcellator lawsuit, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website. To obtain a free legal review, please call 800-511-5092.
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3 billion on behalf of our clients. The Firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since it was first published in 2003.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com/
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Sources:
*Change.org, September 5, 2014: change.org/petitions/women-s-health-alert-deadly-cancers-of-the-uterus-spread-by-gynecologists-stop-morcellating-the-uterus-in-minimally-invasive-and-robot-assisted-hysterectomy
**CBS, April 25, 2014: boston.cbslocal.com/2014/04/25/local-couple-makes-push-to-ban-morcellation/
***Boston Globe, July 11, 2014: bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/07/11/agreement-reached-whether-fda-should-ban-hysterectomy-cutting-tool/EkXZaFAUUnT5HZ7DBQvWbM/story.html
****Ethicon, July 31, 2014: ethicon.com/sites/default/files/managed-documents/Ethicon%20Morcellation%20Devices%20Customer%20Letter%20Final.pdf
*****Democrat and Chronicle, August 19, 2014: democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/08/19/schumer-gillibrand-back-greece-mans-crusade/14304213/