Ethicon

November 4, 2015

Can Hysterectomy Cause Uterine Cancer Spread?

Short answer, yes, by causing the spread of undiagnosed malignant uterine cancer. In American women who are of reproductive age, Hysterectomy is the second most frequently performed surgical procedure (after cesarean section). The majority of these hysterectomies are performed laparoscopically.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 2006-2010, 11.7 percent of women between the ages of 40-44 had a hysterectomy.

Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the United States, and approximately 20 million American women have had a hysterectomy.

By the age of 60, more than one third of all women have had a hysterectomy. According to the National Women’s Health Network (NWHN) unnecessary hysterectomies have put women at risk, and that doctors should search for hysterectomy alternatives before performing life-changing operations.

What is Laparoscopic Hysterectomy?

Minimally invasive or laparoscopic removal of the uterus, is know as hysterectomy and typically performed for the treatment of fibroids or benign tumors of the uterus. During the surgery, many doctors remove the uterus in pieces using a mechanical grinding or chopping device known as a power morcellator.

July 30, 2015

Morcellator Hysterectomy and FDA Black Box Warnings

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Power morcellators are medical devices used to allow surgeons to cut up and remove fibroids through a minimally invasive incision in the abdomen. Over the past 2 years, medical experts have questioned the safety of the devices, since some women may have undiagnosed cancers contained within the uterus, which the devices may rapidly spread throughout the body, during the grinding and cutting process.

FDA Black Box Warning for Power Morcellators

The FDA has hammered the laparoscopic power morcellator devices with the strongest warning possible, requiring the morcellators to have a black box warning concerning the risk of cancer spread.

May 6, 2015

Texas Attorney Explains How Hysterectomy Can Lead to Cancer Spread

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Many product liability lawsuits being filed against the manufacturers of power morcellators. The injured women claim that patients and doctors should have been warned about the risks associated with use of the medical devices during minimally invasive, laparoscopic hysterectomies.

What Are Power Morcellators?

Power morcellators are medical devices that are used during laparoscopic hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures. The device allows the surgeon to grind up the uterus or uterine fibroids and remove the tissue through a small incision in the abdomen. The medical device is used during minimally invasive surgery, and reduces recovery time, scarring and speeds up recovery time.

March 12, 2015

J&J Ethicon Hammered in Vaginal Mesh $5.7M Verdict

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Johnson and Johnson (J&J) the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device maker is hammered in another loss in the on going transvaginal mesh wars.

In the latest of a series of trials held in state and federal court, the jury has awarded $5.7 million verdict against J&J and its Ethicon subsidiary, over Ethicon’s Gynecare TVT Abbrevo device.

Trans Vaginal Wars Continue

January 31, 2015

J&J Ethicon Mesh Injury Settlements

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There are over 75,000 women who have filed personal injury claims against the various manufacturers of the transvaginal and bladder sling products. According to sources, Johnson & Johnson has settled at least four Ethicon transvaginal mesh lawsuits.

These are the first few settlements reached out of over twenty thousand personal injury cases filed against the Johnson & Johnson Ethicon subsidiary company.

These settlements were reached in state court claims, and included a one wrongful death claim that alleged the vaginal mesh caused a deadly infection.

January 11, 2015

Hysterectomy Morcellator Cancer 2015 Update

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There are many product liability lawsuits being filed against the manufacturers of power morcellators. The injured women claim that patients and doctors should have been warned about the risks associated with use of the medical devices during minimally invasive, laparoscopic hysterectomies.

What Are Power Morcellators?

Power morcellators are medical devices that are used during laparoscopic hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures. The device allows the surgeon to grind up the uterus or uterine fibroids and remove the tissue through a small incision in the abdomen. The medical device is used during minimally invasive surgery, and reduces recovery time, scarring and speeds up recovery time.

December 16, 2014

Wrongful Death Uterine Cancer Ethicon Morcellator Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Missouri family has recently filed an uterine cancer lawsuit over power morcellators. The deceased woman’s family alleged that the morcellator device manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary caused cancer to be widely spread during a robotic hysterectomy.

Ethicon Morcellator Wrongful Death Claim

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in early December, following the death of Carl Cecilia Merrill from a rare, malignant cancer called leiomyosarcoma.

November 14, 2014

Boston Scientific Ordered To Pay $26.7 M in Florida Transvaginal Mesh Cases

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In the first federal trial involving Boston Scientific Corp., the vaginal mesh manufacturer was ordered by the jury to pay $26.7 million to a group of four women who blamed the company’s vaginal mesh inserts for their personal injuries.

Jurors in federal court in Miami found that Boston Scientific officials defectively designed their Pinnacle pelvic-organ implants and failed to properly warn doctors and their patients about the device’s risks.

The verdict is the first in a federal case against Boston Scientific over the Pinnacle inserts and the first to combine more than one plaintiff’s claims.

October 9, 2014

Johnson and Johnson Hysterectomy Morcellation Sarcoma Cancer Risk

by Dr. Shezad Malik

According to a new Columbia University medical study, one in about 370 women who have the morcellation procedure to remove uterine fibroids have undiagnosed and unrecognized sarcoma cancer.

This hidden danger can be spread throughout the body during the invasive procedure, leading the cancer staging to be upgraded from stage 1 (local) to stage 4 (metastastic spread). The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on September 24.

What Are Power Morcellators?

September 10, 2014

Dallas Jury Crushes Boston Scientific Mesh Case $73 Million Verdict

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Boston Scientific was crushed in its vaginal mesh debacle, when a Texas state jury ordered the device manufacturer to pay $73 million to a woman who developed chronic pain and injury from the company’s vaginal mesh implant. This was the first award against the device maker over its incontinence slings.

Earlier this week, the Dallas jury found Boston Scientific liable for Martha Salazar’s personal injuries, they found that the company’s Obtryx sling was defectively designed and that the company acted with gross negligence in the sale and marketing of the products. The Texas jury awarded her about $23 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages in a two week trial.

Boston Scientific Exposed to Over 20,000 Lawsuits