Morcellation is controversial because if there is an undiagnosed cancer in the body, the malignant cells could spread due to the procedure. Watch OB/GYN specialist Lauren Streicher, MD, discuss this issue and what doctors are doing to address it.
Morcellation has recently become controversial because there's a concern that in the process of Morcellation, if there's a cancer which is otherwise not been diagonized prior to surgery, the cells from the cancer might spread to other parts of the body, and of course every doctor is concerned about the possibility of causing a complication.
So this's something that we want to be able to predict as much as possible, and most importantly prevent as much as possible, and like most techniques in surgery, as we learn new information, we make changes so that that isn't an issue. One of the things most laparoscopic surgeons are doing, is using a bag to morcellate, so, that means that in the event that there is some contamination from the two but it stays inside the bag, which is then removed from the body.
The other thing that's so important is as best as we can to try and predict who is at risk for cancer, so careful pre-op evaluation is very important. Having said that, there is no way to identify every single woman that has [xx] comma, but fortunately it's a very, very rare occurrence.
Lauren Streicher, MD is assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr. Streicher is a diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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