Despite claims of helping women regain continence, alleviate pelvic pain and help prolapsed organs, transvaginal mesh has time and again proven problematic. The problems, which have led to thousands of lawsuits, are now resulting in payouts to the victims who filed them.

The most recent transvaginal mesh settlement, reported at $21 million, has resolved more than 500 C.R. Bard mesh lawsuits filed by women over the once highly-regarded transvaginal mesh product. The settlement was reached days after the West Virginia federal District Court judge ordered the parties to begin preparing those cases for trial.

Still, C.R Bard is facing more than 12,000 lawsuits from women claiming severe and debilitating complications from its transvaginal mesh devices. Transvaginal mesh is a surgically-implanted device used to treat the effects of pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence – which can occur as a result of multiple childbirths or advanced age. Pelvic organ prolapse can cause painful sexual intercourse, discomfort in the pelvic area, and a disengagement of the bladder into the pelvic region.

Thousands of ongoing transvaginal mesh lawsuits against C.R. Bard, Inc. are consolidated as In re: C.R. Bard Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, 10-md-02187, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Transvaginal Mesh Implant Failure

In response to the growing concern over transvaginal mesh problems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated healthcare professionals further study the rates of transvaginal mesh failure, suggesting these devices should be subject to more rigorous oversight. A significant number of the adverse events reported to the FDA regarding pelvic mesh implants are due to mesh erosion or contraction.

Mesh erosion through the vaginal tissue can cause pain, bleeding and infection. In addition, most surgical mesh implants are made of polypropylene, a material that can shrink after being implanted, causing serious side effects and the pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence condition to return. Symptoms of vaginal mesh failure include:

• Urinary incontinence
• Abdominal pain
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Bleeding

The injuries that women are suffering from transvaginal mesh implants are severe and debilitating and allegedly could have been avoided if patients had the proper information. The edges of the mesh/sling can cut through the skin after implantation causing infection and cutting into nearby structures, sometimes puncturing the bladder, bowel, and uterus.

Additionally, petroleum-based material is particularly at risk of causing infection because the material itself is a “breeding ground” for bacteria. Complications from these infections include incontinence, extreme pain during intercourse, urinary tract infection, back pain, and inability to walk.