子宮肌瘤潛藏子宮肉瘤：美國哈佛醫師訴請禁用子宮絞碎機

Uterine sarcoma behind uterine fibroids : doctors wage war against morcellator

美國波士頓麻醉科醫生，Amy Reed，因子宮肌瘤，於2013年10月，在哈佛醫學中心醫院，伯明罕婦女醫院(Brigham and Women's Hospital)接受婦科手術治療。手術經由腹腔鏡用子宮絞碎機(morcellator)行子宮絞碎手術(morcellation)切除子宮。手術後約一週，病理組織發現有子宮肌肉瘤並有擴散，Reed醫生因此接二連三做了不同的手術治療，好幾回的放療，和六次的化療。目前仍與病魔搏鬥中。Reed醫生和她的丈夫，哈佛大學的外科學系講師，HoomanNoorchashm醫生，為了杜絕這種往後其他病人可能會發生的相同夢魘，便一起向美國食品藥物管理局(US Food and Drug Administration, FDA)訴請禁用子宮絞碎機。FDA於2014年4月17日宣佈，子宮絞碎手術會把子宮肌瘤隱藏的肉瘤組織絞碎而發生擴散和轉移，有子宮肌瘤的婦女最好不要用這類手術方式。

Dr. Amy Reed , who underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy with morcellation to remove uterine fibroids thought to be benign in October 2013 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston , Massachusetts, turned out to be suffering from uterine leiomyosarcoma, a type of uterine sarcoma, and received therapies for metastases thereafter. Dr. Reed and her husband, Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, have campaigned for the ban of power morcellators which shred uterine tissue for easy removal through laparoscopic incisions.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on April 17, 2014 that laparoscopic power morcellators should no longer be used for hysterectomy or myomectomy in most women with uterine fibroids because morcellation, dividing the tissue into smaller pieces, can spread cancerous tissue such as uterine sarcomas beyond the uterus. This is a lesson we learned from Dr. Reed’s surgery because there is no reliable method for predicting whether a woman has uterine sarcoma behind uterine fibroids. This type of surgery and the device should not be used.