Laparoscopic morcellators are power tools that cut fibroids—uterine growths—into pieces so they can be more easily removed through a smaller (laparoscopic) incision. This is supposed to save women the pain and danger of having to undergo open abdominal surgery. But if there’s undetected cancer in her uterus, which sometimes happens among women with fibroids, morcellation can spread cancerous tissue and make her prognosis far more grim. Since April, multiple studies have come out stating the dangers of the tools are worse than people thought. A recent study published in JAMA found that 1 in 368 women with fibroids that needed removal had cancerous tumors at risk of being spread by morcellators. A growing number of women in this situation have come forward since Amy Reed, a doctor, mother of six, and stage four-cancer patient, shared her morcellation story. J&J decided to suspend sales and distribution of the morcellators back in April when the FDA advised doctors not to use the devices until they are further reviewed. But with recent studies condemning the procedure and growing backlash from the public, J&J reached out to doctors directly in late July, asking them to return all morcellators bought from their company.
