Boston Scientific has been hit with a new lawsuit. The plaintiff alleges that she has suffered a number of serious complications after implantation with a Boston Scientific urethral sling.

The plaintiff, Tresca J., alleges that she was first implanted with a Boston Scientific urethral sling in June 2013. In December of the same year, she was implanted with a second Boston Scientific urethral sling.

The specific Boston Scientific urethral sling device referenced in this lawsuit is the Lynx Suprapubic Mid-Urethral Sling System, as well as the Upsylon device.

The Florida plaintiff filed her May 26 complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The Boston Scientific urethral sling lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, design defect, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and others.

The complaint was filed as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, that includes women who were implanted with Boston Scientific urethral sling devices. According to the lawsuit, the devices are “incompatible with human tissue,” promoting a “negative response” that causes inflammation of the pelvic tissue, infection, scarring, mesh erosion, pain, and other serious complications.

Boston Scientific Urethral Sling Basics

A urethral sling (also known as pelvic mesh) is a device that is used to treat several conditions common for women. Women who suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) are often implanted with a urethral sling. These conditions are quite common for women following a hysterectomy, menopause, or childbirth.

Boston Scientific urethral sling products are advertised as offering a quick and easy insertion process, and they are meant to be far less invasive than abdominal device implantation. Many patients believe that, given the minimally invasive procedure, products like Boston Scientific urethral sling implants are the safer choice. However, thousands of women who have been implanted with urethral sling devices have filed lawsuits alleging a number of serious side effects.

Boston Scientific Urethral Sling Side Effects

Serious complications linked with Boston Scientific urethral sling and similar products include mesh erosion and organ perforation, which can be quite serious. Indeed, mesh erosion occurs as mesh breaks apart and passes through the vaginal wall. This causes bleeding, severe pain, infection, and even nerve damage.

The FDA reported in 2008 that complications from urethral sling and pelvic mesh products were rare. Just three years later, in 2011, the agency updated its statement to warn patients and doctors that such complications are not, in fact, rare, and are actually linked with a number of urethral sling and mesh products.

In 2011, the FDA also reported that “it is not clear that transvaginal POP repair with mesh is more effective” than repair without mesh, and may even “expose patients to greater risk.”

If you or someone you love has suffered from complications like mesh erosion or organ perforation after being implanted with a Boston Scientific urethral sling or a similar product, you may have cause to file a lawsuit.

The Boston Scientific Urethral Sling Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-03051, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.