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Ethicon 4/20
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AMS Settles More Than 350 Vaginal Mesh Suits
Apr 17, 2015 | Law360
By Emily Field
Endo International PLC on Friday told the West Virginia federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over Endo’s American Medical Systems Inc. subsidiary's allegedly harmful vaginal mesh products that it had reached settlements with more than 350 plaintiffs. -
Campaigning Sunday Mail reporter Marion Scott hailed as Scotland's Journalist of the Year
Apr 19, 2015 | Daily Record and Sunday Mail
...She has relentlessly battled to give a voice to victims of injustice since joining the Mail in 1979, most recently in her powerful campaigning reports highlighting the plight of women whose lives have been ruined by mesh surgery... -
Can Your Organs “Drop”? Pelvic Organ Prolapse & Your Body
Apr 20, 2015 | Long Beach Post
By Hiren Patel, D.O., urogynecologist,
Women’s bodies are constantly changing. As women mature, their bodies adjust to childbirth and then again adjust to menopause. One of the changes that may come with childbirth is pelvic organ prolapse (organ movement). This is a “common” condition for women who have given birth or have had gynecologic surgery.
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AMS Settles More Than 350 Vaginal Mesh Suits
Apr 17, 2015 | Law360
By Emily Field
Endo International PLC on Friday told the West Virginia federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over Endo’s American Medical Systems Inc. subsidiary's allegedly harmful vaginal mesh products that it had reached settlements with more than 350 plaintiffs.
Endo told U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin that it had “compromised and settled all claims” in about 360 cases in 12 joint motions to dismiss; about 30 of those cases asserted claims against other companies, including Boston Scientific Corp. and C.R. Bard Inc., which Endo requested to be transferred to those respective MDLs.
In September, Endo announced that it reached master settlements with a number of plaintiffs, resolving “substantially all” of the claims in the case without admitting any liability or fault.
Friday’s settlements, for which the value wasn’t disclosed, come a year after the company announced it would pay $830 million to settle "a substantial majority" of the lawsuits related to AMS' vaginal mesh devices.
Last April, Endo announced that it had reached agreements in principle with several plaintiffs' firms — including Motley Rice LLC, Blasingame Burch Garrard & Ashley PC,Levin Simes LLP and Clark Love & Hutson GP — to resolve some 20,000 claims in the ongoing litigation. Plaintiffs in the suits have claimed that the vaginal mesh devices at issue are defective and have caused chronic pain, incontinence and other injuries.
Endo had previously said that it anticipated it would cost at least $520 million to settle or otherwise exit the product liability litigation it faces, which primarily consists of vaginal mesh injury cases. In June 2013, the company agreed to pay $54.5 million to settle an unspecified number of the vaginal mesh claims.
Rajiv De Silva, president and chief executive officer of Endo, said in September that the deals will allow the company to continue to invest in the growth of its business segments and pursue mergers and acquisitions.
"We are very pleased to resolve substantially all of the remaining U.S. vaginal mesh litigation claims facing our AMS business," De Silva said in a statement at the time. “We believe that these settlements will also allow the AMS business to continue its return to growth and enhance focus on the operations and profitability of this leading medical device franchise."
The announcement came a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued two proposed orders that would reclassify surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse as a high-risk device and require manufacturers to apply for pre-market approval with the agency.
The two orders would address the health risks associated with the mesh, which is used to treat women whose internal structures become so weak or broken that their pelvic organs drop from their normal position and bulge into the vagina. The surgical mesh is classified as a moderate-risk device, the agency said at the time of the orders.
The settling plaintiffs are represented by Andrus Wagstaff PC, The Lanier Law Firm andDoyle Lowther LLP, among others.
AMS is represented by Barbara Binis and Tracy Weiss of Reed Smith LLP and Michael Farrell and Erik Legg of Farrell White & Legg PLLC.
The multidistrict litigation is In re: American Medical Systems Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, case number 2:12-md-02325, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. -
Campaigning Sunday Mail reporter Marion Scott hailed as Scotland's Journalist of the Year
Apr 19, 2015 | Daily Record and Sunday Mail
The Sunday Mail’s Marion Scott has been named Scotland’s Journalist of the Year at the country’s prestigious press awards.
Marion was also named Reporter of the Year in Glasgow on Thursday after judges hailed her passionate, campaigning journalism.
She has relentlessly battled to give a voice to victims of injustice since joining the Mail in 1979, most recently in her powerful campaigning reports highlighting the plight of women whose lives have been ruined by mesh surgery.
She has previously won Campaign of the Year for highlighting the systematic abuse of children in church- run residential schools, and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Hugh Cudlipp award for campaigning on miscarriages of justice and child abuse.
Her winning stories this year included revealing how the government would suspend mesh implants until after a safety review prompted by her campaign; new revelations surrounding the decision to drop a rape charge against footballer David Goodwillie; and the first interview with radio presenter Suzie McGuire after her husband was convicted of beating her. Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who has been a vocal backer of the mesh campaign, hailed Marion’s awards in a motion at Holryood and praised the high quality of her work and “groundbreaking campaigning”.
Her awards came on a night when the Mail’s journalism was commended in a number of categories at the 36th Scottish Press Awards. Colleague Norman Silvesterwas runner up to Marion in Reporter of the Year for stories revealing Police Scotland had secretly been sending armed officers on routine patrol.
That was one of our two stories in the running for Scoop of the Year, along with political editor Mark Aitken’s reports from the World Cup slave camps of Qatar. Mark was also shortlisted as Political Journalist of the Year.
We were also shortlisted in the Front Page category for It’s Time, which ran ahead of the referendum.
Our sister paper the Daily Record also won major awards at the Scottish Press Awards.
They were named Newspaper of they Year after picking up a series of prizes on the night including Scoop of the Year and best Front Page for The Vow.
Their political editor David Clegg picked up Political Journalist of the Year whileKeith Jackson picked up Sport News Writer for the third year running.
Meanwhile, Katrina Tweedie collected the Innovation award for Scotland Now, our digital platform launched last May to reach people around the world with an interest in Scots culture.
The Daily Mail also had a big night winning eight awards while Drew Cochrane, who edited the Largs and Millport Weekly News for 40 years, was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.
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Can Your Organs “Drop”? Pelvic Organ Prolapse & Your Body
Apr 20, 2015 | Long Beach Post
By Hiren Patel, D.O., urogynecologist,
Women’s bodies are constantly changing. As women mature, their bodies adjust to childbirth and then again adjust to menopause. One of the changes that may come with childbirth is pelvic organ prolapse (organ movement). This is a “common” condition for women who have given birth or have had gynecologic surgery.
Pelvic organ prolapse is when a pelvic organ moves from its “normal” place in the body and pushes against the walls of the vagina. The most common organ associated with prolapse is the bladder. Additional organs include the urethra, uterus, vagina, small bowel and rectum.
The “dropping” of these organs happens when the muscles that hold these organs get weak or are stretched. It is most commonly linked to childbirth, but it also may occur in women who have had a hysterectomy. Many women experience some type of pelvic organ prolapse, but it affects everyone differently. For some women, it can be very painful and uncomfortable. On the other hand, it can get better with time for others.
The pain from pelvic organ prolapse can get worse with anything that puts pressure on your organs, including being overweight, a long-lasting cough, frequent constipation or pelvic organ tumors. Common symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse include:
Feeling pressure against the vaginal wall
Feeling extremely full in the lower belly
Feeling as if something is falling out of your vagina
Feeling a pull in your groin area
Urine incontinence
Pain during intercourse
Bowel issues
Treatment options for pelvic organ prolapse vary between women. Pelvic floor exercises, high-fiber foods and healthy weight management can alleviate symptoms for some women. In more extreme cases, surgery is an option.
Since pelvic organ prolapse is commonly related to childbirth, there are not many things you can do to prevent muscle and tissue damage. You can prevent this condition from getting worse by:
Maintaining a healthy weight
Not smoking
Fixing constipation
Avoiding heavy lifting/jumping
Pelvic floor exercises
The Center for Women’s Pelvic Health at Long Beach Memorial offers comprehensive treatment options for women with pelvic conditions, ranging from nonsurgical treatments, such as medication, pelvic muscle rehabilitation and intravaginal devices to the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures.
If you believe you suffer from pelvic organ prolapse, it is important to see your physician to discuss treatment options to alleviate your symptoms.
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