The FBI has launched an investigation into Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of laparoscopic power morcellators that were pulled off the market last summer, according to The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has previously warned the device has a serious risk of spreading cancerous tissue.
According to the WSJ, the FBI is looking into what J&J knew about the risks posed by the device, which is used to perform hysterectomies. However, a J&J spokesman told the newspaper that he wasn't aware of an investigation into the device.
The bureau has interviewed a retired pathologist who warned the manufacturer that the morcellators could pose a risk, as well as a physician personally affected by the device and a woman who has collected names of patients and families also affected by it, according to the WSJ.
Several hospitals, like Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's in Boston, have limited their use of the devices in recent years.