South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog
If you found out that your doctor was using a common medical device that could spread an undetected disease within your body, would you want them to continue using it? If you’re like a majority of our readers here in South Carolina, the answer to this question is a simple and resounding one: no.
Unfortunately, for months now, doctors across the nation have continued to use a gynecological tool that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration believes spreads undetected cancer cells in female patients. Despite the agency’s concern for patient safety, many doctors believe that the warning to stop using the device is unwarranted and that the government “shouldn’t [be allowed to] interfere with patient treatment.”
According to an April 2014 press release from the FDA, evidence suggests that the medical device, called a laparoscopic power morcellator, could be spreading cancer cells during noninvasive hysterectomy surgeries, causing patients to redevelop benign or even malignant cancerous fibroids later on. This could cause further injury to patients, which is why the FDA is asking medical professionals to stop using the device.
It’s worth pointing out that doctors who are aware of this potential danger but choose to ignore the warning issued by the FDA could face potential medical malpractice litigation from patients who may consider this disregard for patient safety a negligible decision.
Although some doctors, as we said above, do not want the government to interfere with patient treatments, a concern such as this is not one that shouldn’t be ignored and is one that perfectly illustrates exactly why the government should be allowed to step in and advocate for patient safety.
Source: Fox News, “Gynecologists resist FDA over popular surgical tool,” Sept. 22, 2014