Johnson & Johnson is once again in the crosshairs of another medical device investigation. Ethicon, a division of J&J, is the largest maker of a highly controversial surgical instrument known as a power morcellator. The FBI has launched an investigation to determine if J&J continued to market the devices even after it was discovered they could spread a type of cancer.

The power morcellator was designed to be used in minimally invasive surgeries and is often used to remove the uterus. The tool has rapidly spinning blades that cut tissue into small pieces that can be removed from the body through small slits made during surgery. But it has been discovered that when the morcellator is used in women with undetected cancers, during removal of the uterus malignant cells are sprayed around the abdomen and can actually speed the progression of the disease. Continue reading →