Power Morcellator Cancer Risk Prompts Canadian Regulators to Issue Second Public Warning, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York, New York (PRWEB) December 16, 2014 -- For the second time since May, Canadian regulators are warning the public about the potential for power morcellators (http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com) to disseminate uterine cancer cells when used in minimally-invasive hysterectomies and fibroid removal procedures, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to an alert issued by Health Canada on December 10th, the agency is asking morcellator manufacturers to add new warnings to their product labels that detail this potential risk, and is advising doctors to avoid using the devices in women who are in or near menopause, or those who are good candidates for other minimally-invasive procedures that don’t require morcellation.
In May, Health Canada advised hospitals to consider treatment alternatives that do not require power morcellation for women with symptomatic uterine fibroids because of their potential to spread undetected uterine cancer cells.* The agency issued this month’s alert after determining that the frequency of unsuspected uterine cancer in women undergoing surgery for the removal of presumed benign fibroids was more prevalent than previously thought.
“Our Firm is currently evaluating claims on behalf of women whoe uterine cancers were allegedly spread by a power morcellator. This latest alert from Health Canada further confirms that these devices are associated with some significant risks,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is providing free legal consultations to women who were diagnosed with advanced uterine cancers following uterine morcellation.
Power Morcellators and Cancer
Power morcellators are used in miminally-invasive uterine surgeries to cut up tissue into small pieces so that it can be removed from the body via a small abdominal incision. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing the association between uterine morcellation and cancer since April, when it first discouraged doctors from using the devices.** On November 24th, the agency issued a second alert that warned against the use of the devices in most women, and asked power morcellator manufacturers to add a new black box warning – the strongest possible safety notice – regarding this life-threatening complication to their labels.***
Court documents also indicate that a number of morcellator lawsuits have been filed in U.S. courts on behalf of women whose uterine cancers were allegedly disseminated by a power morcellator. On December 3rd, for example, the family of a Missouri woman filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, which alleges a Gynecare morcellator manufactured by Ethicon, Inc. caused undetected leiomyosarcoma to spread beyond her uterus, ultimately resulting in her death. (Case 4:14-cv-01074-JTM)
Alleged victims of uterine sarcoma or other cancers allegedly 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.
*healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2014/39409a-eng.php, Health Canada, May 7, 2014
**fda.gov/medicaldevices/safety/alertsandnotices/ucm393576.htm, FDA, April 17, 2014
***fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm424443.htm, November 24, 2014
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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Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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Felecia L. Stern, Mirena IUD Lawsuit Legal Center, http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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