Advanced Device for Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

A new tissue morcellator has been developed for laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH), as well as laparoscopic general surgical procedures, laparoscopic urologic procedures, laparoscopic gynecologic procedures, and laparoscopic myomectomy.

The device allows a surgeon to morcellate, or fragment, the tissue of the uterus and remove it through small abdominal incisions. The single-patient-use device allows tissue to be grasped with a standard grasping instrument and drawn up inside the device's central lumen into the inner stationary sheath as the exposed rotating blade cuts the tissue. The physician can activate the device via a foot pedal or via the dual-function blade guard/activation trigger on the device's detachable handle. The morcellator can operate in either coring or peeling mode, based on the degree of exposure of the blade and placement of the rotatable coreguard.

Called the Gynecare Morecellex, the device has a durable titanium-coated blade that speeds tissue morcellation at a rate four times faster than the previous model. The device is packaged with a reducer cap to allow the optional use of a 5 mm instrument.

"Once a woman and her physician have decided that hysterectomy is the best solution, LSH is a viable option that should be explored,” said Andrew I. Brill, M.D., director of minimally invasive gynecology at California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco, USA). "This new surgical tool is designed to minimize some of the challenges physicians may face when performing the procedure, and as a result, hopefully make LSH accessible to more women.”

The Gynecare Morecellex is the product of Ethicon Women's Health and Urology (Somerville, NJ, USA), a Johnson & Johnson company.



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