The safety of a technique used in laparoscopic removal of uterine fibroids has been called into question. Fibroid growths in the uterus can be quite uncomfortable, though they are benign.
Gynecologists have frequently used a tool called a morcellator when removing them through the tiny incisions used for laparoscopic surgery. This tool quickly cuts the fibroid into small pieces that are easy to remove. Those small incisions mean less blood loss and a quicker recovery time.
The morcellator may spread small bits of tissue around the abdominal cavity, however. If the tumor was misdiagnosed as a fibroid when it was actually a sarcoma or other cancer, spreading the cells can lead to a disseminated cancer that is much more serious and difficult to treat.
The FDA has now come out against the use of morcellators during hysterectomy. The agency estimates that one woman in 350 undergoing hysterectomy might have a uterine sarcoma, a rate much higher than previous estimates of around 1 in 1,000.
The dangers of this procedure came to light when a physician, Dr. Amy Reed, was diagnosed with advanced uterine cancer not long after undergoing a hysterectomy. The hospital acknowledged that morcellation during her surgery made her case much more severe. The hospital involved, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, stopped using morcellators after analyzing what went so terribly wrong for Dr. Reed.
