Surgery Tool Being Blamed for Spreading Cancer, Woman to Testify from Hospital Bed

By Staff Writer

Morcellator, a medical tool used to shred tissues to make removing it easier during laparoscopic surgeries, is being blamed for spreading cancer cells in the process. A lawsuit has been filed in Newark by Viviana Ruscitto, who is fighting for her life in a New York hospital.

In what was supposed to be a routine hysterectomy to remove a fibroid, Ruscitto feels that the morcellator device spread cancer cells in the course of the operation. Within weeks of the procedure, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of Stage 4 leiomyosarcoma. According to her family, Ruscitto’s prognosis is poor and because of this a federal court judge agreed to take Ruscitto’s testimony as soon as possible, even doing so from her hospital bed.

Morcellators were designed to help make performing minimally invasive hysterectomies quicker and easier. While hysterectomies were previously performed through an incision in the abdomen or pubic area, the morcellator was invented with the idea of being able to use a smaller incision and speed up surgery time, recovery time and reducing the chance of infection.

However, the problem is that the FDA suggests that 1 in 350 women undergoing similar hysterectomies to remove fibroids has an undetected cancer that the device could spread.

Health care professionals have been warned about morcellators, stating they were capable of spreading cancer cells that were previously undetected by doctors. In fact, the device’s largest maker suspended sales not long after the federal government discouraged its use.

The lawsuit, filed in Newark, is the third such case to reach New Jersey’s U.S. District Court, with around two dozen others across the country. However, Ruscitto’s case differs in that she is also suing for medical malpractice because she feels she was not informed thoroughly before the procedure.

When you undergo surgery, you expect that your doctors and the products they use on you will help you heal—not make you more ill. In the event that you or a loved one are injured by a defective or recalled medical device, you need the assistance of an experienced personal injury law firm like Gilreath & Associates. Call us today to schedule a free consultation.

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