Preview Newsletter
Ethicon Media Monitoring 10/23/2017
-
11th Circuit Affirms $27M in Boston Scientific Pelvic Mesh Judgments
Oct 20, 2017 | Law.com
By Katheryn Tucker
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld nearly $27 million worth of judgments against Boston Scientific Corp. for four Florida pelvic mesh cases. -
RI Atty Can't Ditch Texas Suit Over Hernia Mesh Litigation
Oct 20, 2017 | Law 360
By Jess Krochtengel
A Texas appellate court on Thursday said a Rhode Island attorney can’t steer clear of Texas court in a lawsuit brought by a former client in hernia mesh litigation who claimed the lawyer committed malpractice, improperly settled her case and charged unconscionable fees. -
#MeToo becomes #MeshToo
Oct 20, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
All around social media, #MeToo has become the battle cry that signals you have experienced sexual harassment by someone who held power over you, professionally, physically, or psychologically. -
Why the vaginal mesh scandal could be 'bigger than thalidomide'
Oct 23, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Radhika Sanghani
For the past eight years, Carolyn Tyrer has been in constant pain. The 58-year-old art teacher and mother-of-two feels like her pelvic area is being “ripped apart” whenever she walks. -
'Gusset Grippers’ pelvic floor show goes to Holyrood
Oct 21, 2017 | The Scotsman
By Shan Ross
Hordes of placard-waving protesters, campaigners dressed as hounds and foxes, “choirs” belting out a list of demands – Scotland’s MSPs may think they have seen it all when protesters descend on Holyrood. -
Horwich mum Lisa Aherne shares the pain and tears suffered after pelvic mesh surgery
Oct 23, 2017 | The Bolton News
By Rosalind Sau
A MUM has blamed a surgical implant at the centre of a health scandal for turning her life upside down. -
Woman left debilitated by vaginal mesh implant calls for investigation after ministers dismissed need for inquiry
Oct 23, 2017 | Evening Standard
By Chloe Chaplin
A woman in left chronic pain after having a vaginal mesh implant is urging the government to do more to investigate manufacturers after senior ministers dismissed the need for a public inquiry. -
Vaginal mesh surgery has 'destroyed my life'
Oct 23, 2017 | Plymouth Herald
By Millicent Cooke
Brave Plymouth mum who 'lost everything' wants to help others -
Patient sues estate of Mohammed Mossa over trans-vaginal mesh surgery at Benenden Hospital, Cranbrook
Oct 20, 2017 | Kent Online
A woman who suffered complications after controversial surgery at a Kent hospital has been given the go-ahead to sue the estate of a dead surgeon.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
-
11th Circuit Affirms $27M in Boston Scientific Pelvic Mesh Judgments
Oct 20, 2017 | Law.com
By Katheryn Tucker
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld nearly $27 million worth of judgments against Boston Scientific Corp. for four Florida pelvic mesh cases.
The appeals court denied the company’s claims of error in a decision released Thursday. Judge Stanley Marcus wrote for a panel that included Judge Frank Hull and Judge John Rogers of the Sixth Circuit, sitting by designation.
“After thorough review, and having had the benefit of oral argument, we can discern no error in the district court’s rulings, and accordingly we affirm the judgment,” Marcus wrote.
The decision upholds the decisions of District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia, who presided over four cases that were transferred out of multidistrict litigation in his state to the Southern District of Florida. Goodwin denied Boston Scientific’s motions to sever the four cases on the grounds that they were different and to exclude evidence that the product had been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
Daniel Rogers of Shook Hardy & Bacon in Miami spoke for Boston Scientific at oral arguments in May. Rebecca Vargas of Kreusler-Walsh Compiani & Vargas in West Palm Beach argued for the women, including her client Amal Eghnayem.
The attorneys could not be reached Friday. Staff members said they were in court. But a review of the docket shows that Boston Scientific has been settling the claims for unnamed amounts while the appeal has been pending. The day before Marcus released his decision, Rogers filed a notice of tentative settlement reached with the last woman. Vargas signed the agreement, which said a final settlement would be entered in the next two weeks.
The women presented 25 witnesses, mostly doctors, in support of their claims of complications from surgeries to correct pelvic organ prolapse using Boston Scientific’s product during an eight-day trial in 2014. Among the issues Marcus mentioned in the opinion were pain, painful intercourse, incontinence, pieces of the plastic mesh being exposed requiring more surgery and loss of vaginal sensitivity.
The jury awarded each woman more than $6 million, Marcus said. The verdicts ranged from $6.5 million to nearly $6.8 million.
“The long and short of it is that the district court properly exercised its broad discretion in consolidating these actions and refusing to admit FDA evidence, and the contested fact questions were properly presented to the jury,” Marcus concluded.
The case is Amal Eghnayem v. Boston Scientific, No. 16-11818.
Katheryn Hayes Tucker is an Atlanta based reporter covering legal news for the Daily Report and other ALM publications.
https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/sites/dailyreportonline/2017/10/20/11th-circuit-affirms-27m-in-boston-scientific-pelvic-mesh-judgments/
-
RI Atty Can't Ditch Texas Suit Over Hernia Mesh Litigation
Oct 20, 2017 | Law 360
By Jess Krochtengel
Law360, Dallas (October 20, 2017, 5:59 PM EDT) -- A Texas appellate court on Thursday said a Rhode Island attorney can’t steer clear of Texas court in a lawsuit brought by a former client in hernia mesh litigation who claimed the lawyer committed malpractice, improperly settled her case and charged unconscionable fees.
Rhode Island-based John Deaton of Deaton Law Firm LLC, who acted as local counsel in Rhode Island in hernia mesh litigation for client Margaret Moreno, argued he had no contacts with Texas sufficient to establish jurisdiction over him in the state. But Texas’ Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth said a forum-selection clause in Moreno’s representation agreement with her Texas-based lawyer, Steven M. Johnson, confers jurisdiction over Deaton.
Moreno is a California resident who retained Fort Worth-based Johnson to represent her in connection with injuries from an allegedly defective hernia repair product referred to as Kugel Mesh, made by C.R. Bard Inc. and its subsidiary Davol Inc. Johnson in 2008 entered a referral agreement with Deaton’s law firm under which Deaton would serve as local counsel in Rhode Island, where Davol has its principal place of business, in exchange for 10 percent of attorneys’ fees earned in Rhode Island Kugel Mesh cases.
The representation agreement between Johnson and Moreno identified Tarrant County, Texas, as the place of performance for the contract and provided that legal malpractice claims and fee disputes would be resolved through arbitration in Fort Worth. Though Deaton wasn’t a party to that agreement, he later acknowledged he had been hired pursuant to Johnson’s attorney representation agreements and sought the benefit of contingent fees owed under those agreements.
That subsequent agreement established Deaton as associated counsel under the representation agreement, and the forum selection clause is enforceable against both him and his firm, the court held.
Blake Norvell of the Law Office of Blake C. Norvell, who represents Moreno, told Law360 Friday he’s pleased with the decision.
“Attorneys who betray their clients by breaching the fiduciary duty of loyalty and honesty in class action lawsuits must be held accountable,” he said. “Today's ruling is a victory for clients everywhere. The next step is to aggressively pursue this case on behalf of Margaret Moreno and other such plaintiffs so that justice may be achieved.”
According to the opinion, in 2014, Johnson negotiated a global settlement of all his firm’s pending state and federal Kugel mesh cases, including Moreno’s. The settlement prompted a fee dispute from Deaton, who claimed Johnson refused to inform him of the settlement amounts allocated to the clients Deaton had represented.
Deaton in October 2015 filed a $1 million lien for attorneys’ fees in Rhode Island state court, delaying the funding of the settlement. Johnson then fired Deaton as local counsel, as did most of his clients, according to the opinion. A Rhode Island state court judge ordered the settlement be funded, with $1 million set aside as the attorneys fought over the fee split.
Moreno in February 2016 sued Deaton and Johnson in Tarrant County District Court, saying they had committed legal malpractice and breached fiduciary duties owed to her by failing to disclose pertinent information about her case and the firm’s work for other mesh patients, as well as misrepresenting the number of clients the firm represented and the extent of their participation in the aggregate mesh settlement.
Moreno said the decision to negotiate her case as part of an aggregate settlement instead of an individual settlement “was only advantageous to the attorneys” with no benefit to her, and that it worked against her interests by delaying a resolution of her case and sacrificed the value of her claim for the benefit of other clients whose claims were individually negotiated. She claimed the attorneys had sought to maximize their own recovery at the expense of their clients.
Johnson filed cross-claims against Deaton and his firm for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, tortious interference, fraud, promissory estoppel and specific performance.
The trial court case was stayed in July 2016 while Deaton challenged whether Texas had jurisdiction over him.
Counsel for Johnson and Deaton did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Deaton is represented by Brian H. Fant of Law Offices of Brian H. Fant PC.
Moreno is represented by Blake Norvell of the Law Office of Blake C. Norvell.
Johnson is represented by Jennifer M. Andrews of Naman Howell Smith & Lee PLLC.
The case is Deaton et al. v. Moreno et al., case number 02-16-00188-CV, in the Texas Court of Appeals for the Second District.
--Editing by Adam LoBelia.https://www.law360.com/articles/976621/ri-atty-can-t-ditch-texas-suit-over-hernia-mesh-litigation
-
Oct 20, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
All around social media, #MeToo has become the battle cry that signals you have experienced sexual harassment by someone who held power over you, professionally, physically, or psychologically.
The Mesh Awareness Movement has taken the moniker to the next level for those injured by a mesh medical device.
#MeshToo is a clever way to signal that you have been implanted with a polypropylene plastic or a bio mesh that is causing complications.
If you use social media, and you probably do because you are online, MAM says #MeshToo is another tool for communications.
https://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/metoo-becomes-meshtoo/
-
Why the vaginal mesh scandal could be 'bigger than thalidomide'
Oct 23, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Radhika Sanghani
For the past eight years, Carolyn Tyrer has been in constant pain. The 58-year-old art teacher and mother-of-two feels like her pelvic area is being “ripped apart” whenever she walks. Her long-time hobbies of horse riding and gardening have faded to distant memories, while her relationship with her husband has changed irrevocably, leaving her self-confidence in tatters.
It is all down to a surgical procedure she had back in 2009 to cure her mild stress incontinence. Like thousands of women, Tyrer was advised to have a vaginal mesh implant, known as TVT (tension-free vaginal tape surgery) where a piece of mesh is placed into the vagina to combat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence – issues that typically affect women years after childbirth.
More than 92,000 women had vaginal mesh implants between 2007 and 2015 in England, and about one in 11 is said to have complications. More than 800 of these women are now taking legal action against the NHS and mesh manufacturers. Tyrer is one of these women.The mesh eroded in my vagina. I could feel a sharp piece of plastic poking through. It was excruciating.
“The surgery ruined my life,” she says simply. “The mesh eroded in my vagina. I could feel a sharp piece of plastic poking through. It was excruciating. I suffered chronic UTIs. I couldn’t be intimate with my husband because it hurt both me and him. At times I was in so much pain I could barely sit down.” For eight years, Tyrer was sent back and forth between hospitals and consultants. She had a partial removal of the implant, but it was only this month that she had the mesh fully removed. She estimates that the endless appointments have cost her £10,000 as she was forced to seek help privately, as well as a loss in earnings.
Just two weeks have passed since she had the removal, and she hopes desperately that the pain will never come back, but many of the effects are already permanent. “My relationship with my husband has really suffered – it’s been very hard for him to understand what level of pain I’m in. I’m a different person to how I used to be pre-surgery. I’m more withdrawn, insular and less confident at times. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to how I used to be.
“I just wish I had never, ever had it done. I would rather have coped with that very minor problem of stress incontinence than this. If I’d known even one of these possible risks of the surgery, there is no way I would have had it done. I’m furious I was never told this could happen.”
Tyrer is not the only woman who is filled with anger about vaginal mesh implants. She is part of a campaign group called Sling the Mesh, which has more than 3,000 members who all say they have suffered from significant health issues after the mesh has eroded inside them, causing lacerations and nerve damage.
Hundreds of them are in legal battles against the providers of the mesh and the NHS, who have advised thousands of women to have the procedure instead of more traditional surgeries such as colposuspension, where the front wall of the vagina is lifted to stop incontinence.
These women have called on the Government to ban the procedure, which is still being offered on the NHS. Pressure has come from MPs including Jon Ashworth, the shadow health minister, as well as Sarah Wollaston, who is a Conservative MP, former GP and chair of the health select committee. Jackie Doyle-Price, the under-secretary of state for health, last week announced that while new guidance on the mesh would be published later this year (earlier than its scheduled release in 2019), an inquiry would not be launched.
Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford, is hopeful that it will lead to a complete overhaul of the way that new devices and procedures are checked and monitored before being rolled out.
“I call this the new thalidomide scandal because thalidomide changed drug regulation overnight, and I hope this case will do the same with device regulation,” he says.
“Given the substantial scale and size of the problem, it’s important we learn we need to do something very differently. You can’t correct the past but you can listen to these women’s voices. There’s a need to apologise and to use this as a pivotal learning point to change the system.”
He believes that mesh implants were introduced two decades ago without clinical trial evidence looking at the long-term effects, and that there should be much tougher regulations on devices such as the implant. In the US, vaginal mesh has been seen as high-risk for nearly 10 years, and some studies have suggested that subsequent pain and perforation can affect up to 75 per cent of women.
“I’m so disappointed in myself for not doing more research before having the implant,” says Lynne Sharman. The retired account manager, 62, had an implant put in six years ago; a year later, the pain was so severe that she needed a partial removal, and 10 months after that, a full removal was ordered.
Four years have passed, but she is still in constant pain. “I had the procedure because I wanted to be able to play with my grandchildren without leaks,” says Sharman. “I wanted to join them on the trampoline. Now I can’t even bend down to pick them up. My retired years as a grandma have been completely ruined. I wish I’d never had this, and had just dealt with the incontinence.
“I can’t even drive down the road any more; I’ve lost my independence. I’ve suffered with depression, and soon after having it removed, I was still in so much pain that I thought about taking my life.”
Like Tyrer, she cannot have sex with her husband anymore as it is so painful. After being happily married for almost five decades, her relationship with John, a retired investment director, has changed irrevocably because of the implant. They can no longer share household chores – her husband does everything, as even the simplest of tasks leaves Sharman in excessive amounts of pain.
“I feel badly let down by the medical profession,” she says. “There was information available when the mesh was fitted but I wasn’t told about it – the only risk I was told of was about general anaesthetic and that there was a really slight risk of the bladder being perforated. I was told I’d walk out and within six weeks I’d be a picture of health.”
Many women say they feel their voices weren’t listened to by professionals. A male doctor told Sharman he would have to refer her to a woman as he “didn’t understand women’s issues”, and Tyrer was told to “get used to it”.
“I kept being told it was in my head, that I should put up with it,” she says. Some medical professionals told her there were dozens of women coping with erosion. “No one took it seriously.”
She now hopes that the debate in Parliament will change things. “I obviously want all of us sufferers to be compensated financially for what we’ve been through. But more than anything, I want it banned. So many of us women have had our lives ruined because of this. It isn’t fair and I’m furious. We need to make sure things change so that nothing like this ever happens again.”Related Topics
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/vaginal-mesh-scandal-could-bigger-thalidomide/
-
'Gusset Grippers’ pelvic floor show goes to Holyrood
Oct 21, 2017 | The Scotsman
By Shan Ross
Hordes of placard-waving protesters, campaigners dressed as hounds and foxes, “choirs” belting out a list of demands – Scotland’s MSPs may think they have seen it all when protesters descend on Holyrood.
But next month they’ll be confronted by a physiotherapist, who also performs as a stand-up comedian, dressed as a giant, talking, sparkly vagina, bringing her award-winning Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Gusset Grippers to the Scottish Parliament, lobbying for a health campaign promoting pelvic floor exercises.
Elaine Miller, who has more than 20 years experience working in NHS Scotland, wants a campaign, using humour, shown on television, in cinemas and social media, and taken into workplaces, communities and secondary schools.
Miller, 46, from Blackhall, Edinburgh, said: “I get really frustrated when I see people who have struggled for years, if not decades with continence problems, something which can lead to relationships breaking down and families splitting up.
“This is big public health crisis. Yet there is high success rate if people are taught to do the exercises properly.
“Around one in three women and one in nine men have problems but approximately 80 per cent can be cured with six exercise sessions.
“But instead the NHS is wasting money dealing with the after-effects.”
Pelvic floor muscles stretch like a “hammock” supporting a woman’s bladder, womb and bowel. If not kept in shape these organs can drop down.
The event on 21 November is being sponsored by Lothian Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay, a lead campaigner in the mesh implant scandal whereby many women were left in constant pain after the controversial incontinence treatment.
“Incontinence is an issue affecting so many women – it has a huge impact on their personal wellbeing, their career, social life and their relationships,” Findlay said.
“I hope by using humour to break down barriers and taboos this show helps highlight such a common condition that is not discussed openly.”
Last week Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP, Scottish Lib Dem health spokesman called for a national continence strategy.
Groups attending the event include the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Midwives, health visitors, the union Unite and the Lothian and Scottish Mesh Survivors Group.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “NHS boards already provide services to promote continence and provide dedicated support to patients where appropriate.”
http://www.scotsman.com/news/gusset-grippers-pelvic-floor-show-goes-to-holyrood-1-4593215
-
Horwich mum Lisa Aherne shares the pain and tears suffered after pelvic mesh surgery
Oct 23, 2017 | The Bolton News
By Rosalind Sau
A MUM has blamed a surgical implant at the centre of a health scandal for turning her life upside down.
Since undergoing an operation which saw her fitted with a surgical mesh, Lisa Aherne has lost her job, nearly lost her home and has been left living in constant pain.
The former care assistant from Horwich underwent a hysterectomy on July 16, 2014 – her 44th birthday – at Beaumont Hospital during which time she was also fitted with the mesh in her pelvic region after doctors found a small prolapse.
Immediately after the procedure she noticed something was wrong and suffered 'horrendous pain' but was told it was part of the recovery process.
Two years down the line the 47-year-old is unable to walk, sit or eat without suffering pain down her right-hand side.
She said: "I can feel it pulling on the right-hand side in my groin area. It feels like a fish hook inside of me pulling all the time while the pain down my leg into my foot comes and goes. I also get back pain.
"It feels like the organs are being pulled about in my stomach. I have no idea what damage it is doing. I can't go out to the shops or walk about everywhere. It's not a nice feeling at all.
"When eating food I can't sit straight up, I have to lean to one side, which means I don't go to restaurants any more because of the discomfort.
"This has absolutely changed my life, there have been tears.
"It's horrible, it feels like your life has been taken away from you. You go from enjoying your job and a happy life to feeling totally lost with no answer.
"People like me, we are only the tip of the iceberg. This had affected both men and women."
According to the NHS, synthetic meshes are used to support the vaginal wall and/or internal organs for surgery to a pelvic organ prolapse.
About 1,500 operations are carried out in the UK each year but the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received reports of complications associated with vaginal meshes – these include persistent pain, sexual problems, mesh exposure through vaginal tissues and occasionally injury to nearby organs, such as the bladder or bowel.
International concern has been mounting over the severe complications and on Wednesday the Government rejected a call for an inquiry and ban on the implants following a debate by MPs in the House of Commons.
In Mrs Aherne's case, she was told by the medical team that they would repair the prolapse but says there was no warning that it would involve using the mesh or what side effects it could cause.
It was only after reading the medical notes that the mum-of-two discovered she had been fitted with a prolene — synthetic — implant which she blames for the complications.
She explains: "There was a consent form and I signed it, but I listened to my consultant and, I know you should read the small print, but you trust the consultant to do what's best and I had no inclination.
"I wish I could go back three years knowing what I know now, I would never have agreed to it.
"If someone said there was a risk of destroying the intimacy with your husband and the loss of your job I would have said forget it!"
The pain, and resulting problems with mobility in Mrs Aherne's right leg, forced her to leave work after 25 years and the drop in earnings nearly resulted in the loss of the family home.
She can no longer walk long distances without discomfort, often relying on walking aids or a scooter, and the problems have also put pressure in her marriage.
Over the last two years she was repeatedly sought the help of healthcare professionals, being passed from specialist to specialist, and even undergone a second operation at the Royal Bolton Hospital.
All she has ended up with is a diagnosis of depression, anxiety and chronic fatigue, which she argues against, and has vowed to continue the fight to have the mesh removed and is seeking legal advise.
She adds: "I walked in there a very fit lady, running miles a day, doing a physical job, never been overweight, I don't drink and I had quit smoking in 2011.
"I'm not depressed, I'm lost if anything and very frustrated. I kept saying it was something to do with the operation and they kept saying no it wasn't.
"There are questions that can never be answered. It's horrible, really horrible. I want a chance to at least try to get some of my life back."
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/bolton/15612767.__39_It_feels_like_a_fish_hook_inside_of_me_pulling_all_the_time__39______Mum_reveals_the_pain_and_tears_suffered_after_mesh_implant_operation/
-
Oct 23, 2017 | Evening Standard
By Chloe Chaplin
A woman in left chronic pain after having a vaginal mesh implant is urging the government to do more to investigate manufacturers after senior ministers dismissed the need for a public inquiry.
Helen McDonald, 65, who was fitted with an implant in 2013 after giving birth to three children, has been left in increasing pain and fears she may end up in a wheelchair.
She is now hoping to travel from her home in Northern Ireland to London to speak to consultants as to whether she should undergo potentially dangerous surgery to attempt to remove it.
She is one of scores of women around the world who have complained that the mesh implants, used to treat prolapse or incontinence, have left them debilitated.
Speaking to the Standard following a debate on the issue in Westminster on Wednesday, Mrs McDonald said: “My whole life has changed. If I had known about the risks I would never have got it but no one told me.”
Mrs McDonald was forced to quit her job as a support worker for disabled people because she struggled to stand or bend over.
And her marriage of 44 years has come under intense strain because she is no longer able to have sexual intercourse with her husband.
“It has affected me mentally, It is horrendous," she said. "And if you amalgamate all the women who would have been affected, it is much worse than they are making out.”
She broke down in tears as she explained that she had been left in an impossible situation because the surgery to remove the implant could lead to complete nerve damage, haemorrhage or even death.
During the debate on Wednesday, politicians called for a tighter regulation on the use of vaginal mesh implants.
Labour urged an immediate suspension of the use of the implants, with MP Emma Hardy, who called the debate, saying trials conducted before the introduction of them had been inadequate.
She called for an independent inquiry into the “ongoing public health scandal”.
But minister for care and mental health Jackie Doyle-Price dismissed the need for an inquiry and said the health regulator, the MHRA, advised mesh was “still the best device for treating stress incontinence”.
“The issue is not the product, but clinical practice,” she said . “That’s what’s going wrong.”
She instead said the publication of new guidance on the use of mesh by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) would be brought forward from 2019.
Lawyer Robert Rose, who has been working with women affected by the implants, praised the debate for “helping enforce a change in the way [the implants] are administered within the medical sphere”.
But he said it would also highlight concerns over how so many women were fitted with the device in the first place, without being fully informed.
He said: “[The debate] will also put a spotlight on the profound effect these implants have on individuals who are fitted with them, and if the medical profession were aware of these complications why did they not do anything to raise awareness, and if they weren't aware then why not?
“Many injured women are now considering taking legal action against both the NHS Trusts ( for failing to obtain proper pre-operation consent, as well as inadequate surgical technique ) and the manufacturers of the mesh itself (based on a product liability claim).”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/woman-left-debilitated-by-vaginal-mesh-implant-calls-for-investigation-after-minister-dismissed-need-a3664006.html
-
Vaginal mesh surgery has 'destroyed my life'
Oct 23, 2017 | Plymouth Herald
By Millicent Cooke
Brave Plymouth mum who 'lost everything' wants to help others
A Plymouth mum has bravely spoken out about the vaginal mesh surgery that ruined her life.
Surgical mesh procedures are performed on the NHS and privately in the UK on around 10,000 women each year to treat hernias, prolapses and incontinence.
But many have experienced major complications and have been left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex.
Some have even reported feeling suicidal as their quality of life has been lost.
Many women have spoken out about the mesh.
But few of them have spoken in detail about how the controversial surgery has impacted their lives.
One brave woman from Stoke contacted us to share her story – detailing in depth the shocking realities of what can happen when things go wrong.Catherine's story
Mum-of-two Catherine* believed that one simple surgery would cure years of pain and discomfort caused by her prolapse.
But the 58-year-old says her life was ruined by the surgical mesh implant - which she was told was the only way to cure her condition.
Having children had weakened the tissues supporting Catherine’s pelvic organs, which include the uterus, vagina, bowel and bladder, and eventually they began to protrude from her back passage.
She also began suffering from incontinence.
The symptoms of a prolapse often progress very gradually and it took Catherine years to seek medical help.
Though the condition isn't life-threatening it can have a huge impact on your quality of life.
Catherine explained: “It first started after the birth of my second child in 1993. At first I just dealt with it but over the years it got worse and worse.”
Eventually the problem started to become more and more distressing for her.
Catherine said: “The prolapse became very difficult to deal with and I found it hard to wear certain clothes or even exercise.
“I also had to wear a pad constantly because I couldn’t control my bodily fluids.
“It got to the point when I had to check the seat if I had been sat down too long to make sure that I hadn’t left anything behind.”
Eventually after years of struggling Catherine decided to seek help and visited her doctor.
She explained: “My 50th birthday was coming up and I decided to sort out everything I wasn’t happy about. I wanted to get my teeth done and get the prolapse sorted once and for all.
“Also the prolapse had affected my ability to run. I was a very keen runner and loved to keep fit so I wanted to resolve the problem.
“People often told me I looked young and that I looked healthy for my age but they didn’t know what I was dealing with. I just wanted to look and feel as good as I could.”
“I didn’t want to keep living with it.”
Catherine visited her GP who referred her to the surgical department at hospital.
Eventually she had a proctogram, a type of x-ray used identify internal rectal prolapse, which confirmed that she had a pelvic organ prolapse (POP).
Catherine was immediately referred for surgery and booked in for a rectopexy – an operation where the rectum is put back into its normal position in the body.
The surgery involves inserting a flexible mesh made of plastic into the body.
The elastic mesh is attached to the coccyx and the front of the vagina so that it can support the pelvic organs like a hammock.
Catherine said: “After the proctogram they referred me in for surgery and said it was what necessary for me to undergo the procedure.
“They didn’t offer any alternatives. I didn’t know there were any.”
In February 2010 Catherine went in for surgery. But just days after leaving hospital problems started to arise.
She said: “My stomach had swelled up so much and I had problems with my bowel movements. I had no power to push. I just couldn’t go to the toilet.
“I went back to the hospital and they said there was nothing wrong with me.
“Instead they gave me very heavy pain medication and laxatives to go to the toilet.
“I kept going back to the doctors and pushing for answers but they said my problems were nothing to do with the mesh.”
Catherine told The Herald she struggled with pain and discomfort for almost a year – until the situation got even worse.
One day in April the following year, while getting ready for work, Catherine squatted down to get something and suddenly felt excruciating pain.
She explained: “I was rushing around getting ready for work when I bent down to get something off the floor.
“In this manoeuvre I felt a massive twang and my whole lower body erupted in pain.
“I felt like I was in labour. I was in pain everywhere. My thighs, my buttocks, my lower back, my vagina and my rectum.
“I didn’t know at the time but the mesh had largely detached from my coccyx, rolled up and buried itself in my vaginal wall.”
With the mesh broken and buried inside her, her pelvic organs were no longer supported, and her prolapse returned.
She said: “I couldn’t walk. The prolapse had returned and the pain was too much.
“I was prescribed very heavy pain medication which I have needed to take ever since.
“I used to be able to run. I loved running. Now I find it difficult to even walk.”
Despite complaining about the pain constantly, Catherine was ignored by all of her doctors, who told her that there was nothing wrong.
She said: “I pushed and I pushed and eventually found a doctor who would have a look at me.”
Almost two years later she discovered a surgeon in Southampton who performed a medical examination.
That is when they discovered that the mesh had snapped and broken inside of her.
Catherine said: “Due to the severity of the pain I was forced to pay to see a private surgeon. When she saw me she knew straight away something was wrong.
“She agreed to carry out an operation to remove the mesh. She tried her best to dig it all out but she said that she couldn’t remove all.”
Despite removing most of the mesh Catherine’s life did not return to normal and she remained in extreme pain.
She said: “The surgeon told me that the damage may already be done. There was nothing else anyone can do.”
Catherine remained on very strong pain medication and still has not regained control of her bowels.
She said the problems caused by the surgery have ruined her life both mentally and physically.
She explained: “I have had extensive counselling for depression and I am currently signed off sick from work.
“I have lost everything. Ever since I had the surgery I haven’t been able to lead a normal life. I can’t walk normally. I am in constant pain.
“People need to know this is happening everywhere – including Plymouth.”
Catherine told The Herald that the mesh should be banned so that no more women have to suffer the way she has.
MPs spent two hours debating the issue, which highlighted some of the devastating effects that the implants have had on women, in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
But the Government rejected calls for an inquiry and a ban on the surgical mesh implants across the UK.
Campaigners have now vowed to fight on despite the public inquiry being rejected by Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price.
Hundreds of women from across the UK have come forward to say that the procedure left them physically and mentally scarred.
The device has already been suspended in Scotland.
*Catherine's name has been changed to protect her identity.
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/health/vaginal-mesh-surgery-destroyed-life-657795
-
Oct 20, 2017 | Kent Online
A woman who suffered complications after controversial surgery at a Kent hospital has been given the go-ahead to sue the estate of a dead surgeon.
The woman was fitted with trans-vaginal mesh to treat an incontinence problem at Benenden Hospital, Cranbrook in 2007 but later developed serious problems after the mesh eroded.
She suffered heavy bleeding and pain and, after undergoing further surgery in an attempt to correct the problem, had a hysterectomy in 2013.
Despite that, she continues to suffer ongoing symptoms, London's High Court heard.
The issue of trans-vaginal mesh surgery hit the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed hundreds of women were bringing legal action against the NHS and the makers of the products after suffering complications.
The implants are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence, mainly after childbirth, but some can become embedded into the vagina - causing severe pain and discomfort.
The woman brought a claim for damages against Mr Mohammed Mossa, the surgeon who performed the procedure.
She alleged the doctor failed to provide enough information about the mesh product used and didn't give advice on alternative treatment options.
After Mr Mossa died in 2015, she continued her lawsuit against his estate - which is contesting the claim.
Defence lawyers argued it was "too late" for her to sue, particularly as Mr Mossa was no longer alive to defend himself.
But, despite "gaps" in the evidence, Mrs Justice Yip has now opened the way for her to press ahead with her claim.
He said a judge who had previously ruled on the case had "plainly recognised the careful balancing act he was required to carry out".
He continued: "He gave careful attention to the fact of Mr Mossa's death and the impact on the cogency of the defence evidence.
"I do not accept he gave any inappropriate weight to the prejudice to (the woman) if she were not able to proceed with her claim."
The woman's compensation claim will now go ahead for a full hearing at a later date.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/woman-to-sue-dead-surgeon-134020/
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
Add recipients
Suggested