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Vaginal Sling Overview
A vaginal sling or transvaginal mesh sling may be used to treat urinary incontinence in women.
As women age or after they give birth, they may fight the ability to control their bladder. Urinary incontinence is the term used when urine leaks unexpectedly. Sometimes coughing, sneezing or even laughing can cause a bit of urine to leak. Other times, a woman may feel a very strong and sudden onset for the need to urinate when she’s too far to get to a bathroom in time.
A muscle around the bladder relaxes and allows urine to enter the urethra when you’re ready to urinate. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to where it is released out of the body. If you suffer from urinary incontinence, a surgeon may place a “sling” around the urethra to help keep it closed until you are ready to urinate on the toilet.
Placement of a Vaginal Sling
Most patients receive a vaginal sling through an outpatient surgery. Full recovery may take anywhere from one to three months.
The surgeon will need to create a small incision inside of the vagina and possibly another incision in the abdomen. The sling will be inserted through the incisions and looped around the urethra where it may or may not be secured through stitches.
Problems with Transvaginal Mesh Sling
More than 100,000 lawsuits have been filed because of alleged defective transvaginal mesh sling mechanisms or mesh-related side effects.
Women claim they have been seriously injured because of the mesh.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the most common problem with mesh slings is the erosion of the mesh through the vagina. Pieces of the mesh might actually begin to protrude out the vagina.
The FDA says, “In some cases of mesh erosion, it may be necessary to return to the operating room to remove part or all of the mesh.”
In some cases of extensive scar tissue building up in and around the mesh, the surgeon will find it’s impossible to remove all of the mesh.
The other most commonly reported complications of vaginal mesh slings include pain, infection, urinary problems, recurrent incontinence, pain during sexual intercourse, bleeding, organ perforation, vaginal scarring and neuromuscular problems.
Transvaginal mesh materials also may shrink or become misshapen after placement in the body. When the mesh shrinks, it can tighten and pull on the muscles, causing pain according to Michigan Health.
Several transvaginal mesh manufacturers are under investigation due to allegations the mesh products were not tested properly, that no safe methods of removal were determined before the mesh went on the market, and that women were not warned of the risks of having the mesh placed in their bodies.
In addition, a vast majority of the studies only followed patients through the first year after surgery even though the mesh allegedly was meant to be a permanent solution intended to last for years.
Among the companies under investigation for their transvaginal mesh products are C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, American Medical Systems, Coloplast, Caldera Medical, Ethicon, Mentor and Neomedic International.
One thought on What Is a Vaginal Sling?
Need to know why a class action against Ethicon-Johnson & Johnson was settled in Judge Goodwin’s West Virginia court room in 2018 and now I have not received any settlement check? When I inquire I am told by Mostyn Law- Houston TX that it has gone to Ethicon and they will be the final to say how much I will receive or just plain rejected! Is this the way class actions are handled?
divisions for cash amounts were published in 2018 and I was in a cash amount group and now I am told it is up to Ethicon????