The Journal revealed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was aware of the risk of spreading cancer when it first approved the laparoscopic power morcellator for gynecology in the 1990s. The piece was part of a Journal investigation about a once common medical procedure–the use of a morcellator for minimally invasive hysterectomies. Throughout the course of the year, the Journal revealed that doctors and companies evangelized for the device without fully considering the risks or informing patients; the government agency responsible for the safety of medical devices ignored its own internal concerns; and women went into surgery believing they had a simple, benign condition and emerged facing a battle for their lives. The Journal’s coverage unmistakably altered the course of medicine and saved the lives of an untold number of women.
