Vaginal mesh, also known as bladder mesh or pelvic sling, is a medical device used as implant for the surgical repair of Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI); many physicians from all over the world are practicing this procedure. The most commonly affected are those aging women with past records of hysterectomy, vaginal delivery, and menopause.
A network of connective tissues spread across the walls of the vagina. This network of tissues strengthens the support of the vaginal wall to better hold the pelvic organs like the uterus, urethra, bladder, and rectum. In the event that these connective tissues lose elasticity such as after menopause when the body lessens the production of estrogen or after an expansion of the vaginal wall such as in vaginal delivery and hysterectomy procedures, any of the pelvic organs shift out of place and causes major problems. Initially, symptoms appear as benign, but if not immediately attended to, negative consequences are sure to follow.
Vaginal mesh implant used to be popular for the repair of SUI and POP. Women call it the modern approach to treat these two conditions. But recently, there have been an increasing reports of serious risks linked to vaginal mesh use. More and more women have suffered unreasonable injuries after receiving vaginal mesh. The most frequently reported complications are mesh erosion, infection, hemorrhage, problems in urination, recurrence of prolapse, pain, and pelvic organ perforation. From all these, mesh erosion ranks as the number one major complication. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult to correct; sometimes it many even be beyond repair. Also, it can further the development of infections or bleeding and lead to even more dangerous side effects.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the potential harmful effects of using vaginal mesh products on July 2011. The agency also asserted that the use of vaginal mesh has no clear benefits compared to non-mesh traditional procedures. Despite the warnings made by the FDA, there are still many mesh manufacturers all over the United States which are continuously producing these dangerous vaginal mesh products. Because of this, many physicians are still considering to perform vaginal mesh surgery to correct POP and SUI.
There's an increasing number of filed individual and class action lawsuits regarding the use of vaginal mesh products, perhaps because most mesh manufacturers have failed to warn the consumers of the danger of the products they produce and they failed to ensure the efficacy of these meshes. More and more women are stepping out to report the injuries they suffered and the painful consequences they had gone through.
If you have undergone treatment for your Pelvic Organ Prolapse or Stress Urinary Incontinence, and have suffered injuries which generally altered your way of living, it is very important to learn about your rights in receiving a
vaginal mesh lawsuit compensation.
