Jennifer Capozzola Photography

CHAMPION Dr. Reed, shown here in June 2015 with her husband, surgeon Hooman Noorchashm, MD, their 6 children and their dog.

Amy J. Reed, MD, the Philadelphia-area anesthesiologist who was instrumental in urging the FDA to advise surgeons to no longer use power morcellators to treat the vast majority of women with uterine fibroids, died earlier this week of uterine leiomyosarcoma — an aggressive form of cancer that Dr. Reed believed her morcellation procedure caused to spread.

Dr. Reed, 44, underwent surgery involving morcellation in 2013 to remove her uterus because of fibroids. Originally hailed as a significant advancement in minimally invasive surgery, the power morcellator lets surgeons work through small incisions so patients can heal faster, with a reduced risk of bleeding and infection. Research has since shown the device to be a potential hazard because the device's spinning blades can spread unsuspected cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis — just as it likely did with Dr. Reed.

After a post-operative biopsy revealed that Dr. Reed had a hidden leiomyosarcoma, she learned that her surgeon had used a power morcellator to perform the procedure. She developed Stage 4 cancer. Numerous treatments — supplemental surgeries, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, experimental treatments — helped to prolong her life, but she suffered one setback after another, including a days-long coma earlier this year.

All the while Dr. Reed and her husband, surgeon Hooman Noorchashm, MD, fought to raise awareness of the dangers of morcellation. She became a prominent figure in local and national news, often doing TV interviews with one of her young children in her lap, her head absent of hair as a result of her chemotherapy treatments. The family's efforts led to intense scrutiny of power morcellation, including the November 2014 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advising surgeons to no longer use power morcellators in the vast majority of women undergoing surgery to treat uterine fibroids, which can mask the cancer.

Although the FDA's actions have not led to an outright ban of morcellators, they have had a chilling effect on their use. The drug agency has issued labeling guidance for manufacturers, directing them to include the following contraindications: peri- or post-menopause; tissue with known or suspected malignancy; and instances in which tissue can be removed intact through the vagina or by way of a laparotomy. In addition, manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson have voluntarily withdrawn their morcellators from the market.

Bill Donahue