Denied Surgery at Home, Canadian Women Set Mesh Excision in U.S.

A report appearing on CBC on Nov. 28, 2012 disclosed the plans of three Canadian women to travel to the United States to have their vaginal mesh device removed. This decision had been reached after the healthcare system of Saskatchewan did not agree to do the procedure for fear of further complicating the injuries.

According to these women, they have experienced serious complications resulting from the use of vaginal mesh devices to treat their pelvic organ prolapse. Shortly after their surgeries, the mesh started to erode to the other pelvic organs, causing debilitating pain and other adverse reactions.

They will be contracting the services of Dr. Shomo Raz, a urologist of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) urology clinic. Dr. Raz has been considered the best at mesh excision due to his use of the innovative translabial ultrasound imaging.

The women appear desperate enough that they are willing to spend their own money for the procedure, if only to quickly end their misery. According to Ms. English, one of the Canadian women, “We are angry, we are sick, and we are in pain.” And she urges other women to educate themselves so they might not end up like them.

Read more: Canadian Women Seeking Removal of Their Vaginal Mesh Devices in the U.S.

Transvaginal Mesh Needs Expert Physician

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has informed  all physicians about the serious complications associated with the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh in the repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the FDA website reports.

This surgical mesh is used in women to cure  of pelvic prolapse, bladder prolapse, and similar problems. It is rooted in the vagina, aiding as a pelvic or bladder sling and reinforcing the vaginal wall.

Over the past three years, FDA has received over 1,000 reports against nine surgical mesh manufacturers documenting complications that were associated with surgical mesh devices used to repair POP and SUI.  These mesh devices are regularly located transvaginally make use of utensils for nominally hostile post.

The most common problems comprised erosion through vaginal epithelium, infection, pain, urinary problems, and recurrence of prolapse or incontinence.  There were correspondingly reports of bowel, bladder, and blood vessel tear during insertion.  The vaginal scarring and mesh erosion led to a significant decrease in patient quality of life due to discomfort and pain, including dyspareunia, in some cases according to the FDA.

The treatment of the various types of complications included additional surgical procedures (some of them to remove the mesh), intravenous therapy, blood transfusions, and drainage of hematomas or abscesses, says the FDA website.

Specific characteristics of patients at increased risk for complications have not been determined, according to research findings.  Those contributing  causes may include the overall health of the patient, the mesh material, the size and shape of the mesh, the surgical technique used, concomitant procedures undertaken (e.g. hysterectomy), and possibly estrogen status.

To avoid complications, physician should obtain specialized training for each mesh placement technique and be are aware of its risks, according to FDA recommendations.  Doctors are advised to be vigilant over potential adverse events from the mesh, especially erosion and infection.  They are also asked to watch for complications associated with the tools used in transvaginal placement, especially bowel, bladder and blood vessel perforations.

Primarily, specialists were to tell patients that implantation of surgical mesh is enduring, and that some problems related with the implanted mesh may require additional surgery that may or may not alter the complication, the FDA reported.

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medscape.com/viewarticle/746285

fda.gov/medicaldevices/safety/alertsandnotices/publichealthnotifications/ucm061976.htm