Surgical Mesh Used to Treat Stress Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse
The transvaginal placement of surgical mesh is most commonly used in surgical procedures in women suffering from stress urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse. These painful conditions may be corrected through surgeries, but in many cases, the mesh used in the surgery to prevent the problems has resulted in painful injuries for patients.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse is a common condition, particularly among older women who have given birth at some point in their lives. Following pregnancy and child birth, the muscles and tissue supporting the uterus, bladder, and other pelvic organs may be stretched out and weakened. As a result, the organs may shift around inside the body and create problems.
The bladder may prolapsed and fall toward the vagina, creating a large bulge in the front vaginal wall. The bladder and the urethra commonly prolapse together, creating a condition called a cystourethrocele that is the most common type of prolapse seen in women. Pelvic organ prolapsed can occur in several degrees, commonly called mild, moderate, and severe, depending on the degree of movement and the number of internal organs affected.
Surgical Mesh Patch FDA Warning
In October 2008, the FDA issued a public health notification to warn consumers about the risks of complication from the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh. Although rare, the complications posed serious health risks to women. The FDA recommended that physicians receive additional training in the use of the products and give more information to patients about the mesh in an effort to reduce injuries and complications.
Serious Complications Reported
In some cases, vaginal scarring that resulted in significant discomfort and pain was reported. Patients also noted a decrease in their quality of life a result of the pain and scarring. The size and shape of the mesh, the surgical technique used in the placing the mesh inside the body, the patient’s estrogen levels, and other factors appeared to contribute to the risk of complications, the FDA said.
Transvaginal Placement of Surgical Mesh Used?
The transvaginal placement of surgical mesh is most commonly used in surgical procedures to treat stress urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse in women. The mesh is placed along the vaginal wall to protect the area and is designed to be left permanently inside the body.
Surgical Mesh as a Treatment Option
Surgeons commonly use surgical mesh in procedures to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. By using mesh to strengthen the internal organs and prevent them from coming into contact with one another, a surgeon may be able to reduce pain and other symptoms. However, many women have complained of suffering painful injuries as a result of the use of transvaginal placement of surgical mesh. In some cases, surgeons have had to perform additional procedures to remove the mesh.
FDA Warns of Vaginal Mesh Dangers
According to the FDA, during a three-year period, more than 1,000 women reported complications from the surgical mesh. Reports of the mesh eroding through vaginal wall, infection, pain, urinary problems, and recurrence of the underlying problem for which surgery was initially performed we received. Bowel, bladder, and blood vessel perforations also were been reported, and in many cases, these complications required extensive additional surgeries to correct.
Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence is a condition in which urine leaks from the body during regular daily activities such as coughing, laughing, sneezing, or exercising. The condition is most often caused by weakness in the muscles surround the pelvis resulting from childbirth and pregnancy. In time of increased pressure on the abdomen, the weakened muscles in the pelvis can allow the urethra to involuntarily leak urine. In women, stress urinary incontinence can require surgery to correct, but in men, the condition is common and more easily treatable.
Women may find that stress urinary incontinence worsens during the week before their menstrual period, when decreased estrogen levels may lead to lower muscular pressure around the urethra and increase the chances of leakage. The incidence of stress incontinence also increases following menopause, also as a result of decreased levels of estrogen.
Injury from the surgical mesh patch can cause serious health risks to you or someone you love, if you believe that you have been injured by a defective Hernia Mesh Patch or the Transvaginal Surgical Mesh Patch contact our law firm for a free online or telephone consultation. You have rights, and you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, pain, suffering, lost wages, wrongful death and other damages.
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Vaginal Mesh Injuries
Women injured by the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh may suffer a wide range of injuries, including infection, bladder pain, urinary problems, and a recurrence of the condition for which the surgery was done. There have also been reports of bowel, bladder, and blood vessel perforation during insertion of the mesh and of vaginal scarring and mesh erosion.
Painful Bowel and Bladder Perforations Among the Common Surgical Mesh Injuries
Women who undergo surgical procedures for the treatment stress urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse may suffer a variety of serious injuries caused by the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh. The procedure can result in severe pain, urinary problems, and other complications. In many cases, additional surgeries are required to remove the mesh in an effort to correct the problems.
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Injury from surgical mesh patch can lead to serious and life-threatening complications. It is important to understand your rights, contact us today for a free consultation.
March 3, 2013 - The Sanders Firm
Just three days after an Atlantic County Superior Court jury awarded Linda Gross $3.35 million dollars for injuries she sustained from Johnson & Johnson’s Prolift Pelvic Mesh, the same jury hit Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon with a verdict of $7.76 million dollars for punitive damages in relation to the same lawsuit. Gross v. Gynecare, Inc., ATL–L-6966-10. The jury was convinced that Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon acted with reckless disregard to patients in selling its Prolift mesh, justifying the additional sanctions to deter future bad conduct and sending a strong message to these and other greedy companies that profits over patients will not be condoned. This verdict is rendered in relation to the Prolift mesh recently withdrawn from the market after scrutiny regarding the mesh’s dubious history.
Sanders Viener Grossman, LLP has been working on behalf of more than 3500 women who have sustained injuries from mesh implanted for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress urinary Incontinence (SUI) manufactured by Ethicon/J&J as well as C.R. Bard, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific and others. Our attorney, Victoria J. Maniatis, was appointed by The Honorable Joseph R. Goodwin, Chief Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of West Virginia to serve on the Multi District Litigation’s Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee on behalf of injured plaintiffs from across the country whose cases are transferred to that Court for coordinated discovery. Our team of lawyers has done exhaustive work to benefit women across the nation whose cases are filed in the federal courts as well as in Atlantic County.
February 25, 2013 - The Sanders Firm
February 25, 2013 – After a six-week long trial, an Atlantic County, New Jersey jury rendered a $3.35 million dollar verdict to Plaintiff Linda Gross re: Gross v. Gynecare, Inc., Superior Court of New Jersey, ATL-L-6966-10. Mrs. Gross, a 47 year old nurse from South Dakota, sued Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for serious injuries she sustained from its Prolift mesh that was implanted in 2005 to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse. This is the same product that Ethicon withdrew from the market several months ago after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the placement of a Transvaginal surgical mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse repair posed “greater risk than other surgical options”.
Thousands of women have received the implantation of Ethicon’s Prolift mesh and many of them have had or are undergoing additional corrective surgeries to remove the Prolift mesh and repair the damage induced from it as well as negate some of the complications that arise from the mesh defect which are debilitating and extremely painful.
The Sanders Firm (Sanders Viener Grossman, LLP) is currently working on behalf of more than 3,500 women who have sustained injuries from Transvaginal mesh implants for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) manufactured by Ethicon, a division of Johnson & Johnson as well as C.R. Bard, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Coloplast, and others. Victoria J. Maniatis, an attorney at The Sanders Firm representing Transvaginal Mesh plaintiffs, was appointed by Honorable Chief Judge, Joseph R. Goodwin, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the United States District Court, Southern District of West Virginia. “Our team of attorneys has done extensive work for women across the country who have unfortunately been injured by these Transvaginal mesh implants and have gone through excruciating pain,” says Maniatis who represents not only cases filled in the MDL but in the mass tort in state court New Jersey as well.
The Sanders Firm is a National Law Firm with almost fifty attorneys, one-hundred and twenty staff members and clients in all fifty States. For the past forty-three years, The Sanders Firm has successfully represented thousands of victims of defective drugs and medical devices with recoveries of over $500 Million for their clients. If you are looking for more information about Transvaginal meshes implanted for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) fill out the form below or click here.
July 18, 2011 - Edward Nitkewics
The Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") announced last week that transvaginal placement of surgical mesh in connection with Pelvic Organ Prolapse repair poses "greater risk than other surgical options."
According to the American Urogynecologic Society, pelvic organ prolapse is a medical condition that occurs when the normal support of the vagina is lost, resulting in "sagging" or dropping of the bladder, urethra, cervix and rectum. As the prolapse of the vagina and uterus progresses, women can feel bulging tissue protruding through the opening of the vagina.
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September 8, 2011 - David Voreacos and Alex Nussbaum
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and C.R. Bard Inc. may have to submit more safety data on a type of surgical mesh that has led to about 500 lawsuits against the manufacturers.
A panel of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers is meeting today and tomorrow on whether the mesh, which supports weakened muscles that can't hold a woman's pelvic organs in place, is safe and effective. If not, the device makers may be required to provide more data to keep their products, approved by regulators under an abbreviated process, on the market.
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March 21, 2012
According to a recent report, Johnson & Johnson sold their Gynecare Prolift mesh for several years before obtaining FDA approval, and the manufacturer now faces a number of product liability lawsuits brought by women who suffered complications allegedly caused by design defects with the vaginal surgical mesh.
Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit began selling the Prolift mesh in March 2005, but it was not approved by the FDA until May 2008, three years later.
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