A woman has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon after allegedly suffering hernia mesh complication symptoms.

Plaintiff Tina W. claims she was diagnosed with a hernia and underwent surgery in November 2005. Her surgeon used Ethicon’s Prolene Mesh to strengthen the repair. Prolene mesh is made of polypropylene material, which Tina claims is known to be biologically incompatible with human tissue and instigates an immune system reaction in many people.

In December 2016, Tina says she started to feel discomfort and saw that her stomach wall was extended in the area where she had received her surgery. Although she had made an appointment to see her doctor about the problem on Dec. 29, 2016, her hernia mesh complication symptoms escalated on Dec. 28, 2016, according to her complaint.

At 1 a.m. on Dec. 28, Tina says she began experiencing nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. She says the local emergency room performed a CT scan that showed her hernia mesh complication symptoms were due to the soft tissue adhering to the mesh. The ER doctor suggested Tina follow up with a specialist in this type of surgery.

On Jan. 17, 2017, Tina met with a surgeon who said she needed the same hernia repaired, but the soonest he could perform surgery was March 3, 2017.

From Dec. 28, 2016, through March 3, 2017, Tina endured constant pain aggravated by nausea and recurrent bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, according to her hernia mesh lawsuit.

Tina underwent surgery on March 3, 2017, and according to the surgeon’s report, the doctor was able to find a small collection of mesh that he removed. He implanted a new Prolene mesh into Tina at that time.

Hernia Mesh Complication Symptoms Worsen

Following her March 3, 2017 surgery, Tina says she has continued to be in pain and discomfort while suffering from nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Her hernia mesh complication symptoms are due to a foreign body reaction that is common in patients who receive polypropylene surgical mesh implants. The material is prone to shrinkage and deforming over time.

“The excessive and uncontrollable inflammatory property of polypropylene can cause scarring that damages nerves permanently causing chronic, debilitating pain, resulting in permanent disability among patients,” says Tina’s lawsuit.

The pain caused by the hernia mesh complications symptoms can impact mobility “to the point of being lost entirely.”

Tina says she suffers a systemic infection and chronic inflammatory response as her system continues to try to expel the mesh, which her body “reads” as a foreign object.

The Prolene mesh is a “cheap plastic that degrades and erodes through tissue once implanted,” alleges the hernia mesh complication symptoms lawsuit. According to Tina’s complaint, the mesh is made with a woven design that allows small holes to exist throughout the implant. As the mesh moves through erosion, nerves area pulled and stretched, inducing debilitating pain. Tina claims such pain induced by stretched nerves is “essentially untreatable.”

Even after removal of the toxic mesh, nerve damage cannot be repaired, and pain often remains.

The Hernia Mesh Complication Symptoms Lawsuit is Case No. 5:18-cv-05050-TLB in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division.