Hernia mesh repair complications have been reported worldwide with patients and physicians faulting allegedly defective surgical mesh designs.

Patients complain of intense pain, likening the feeling to a cheese grater scraping inside the abdominal area. A burning, itching, or stabbing sensation that never subsides causes misery in patients who underwent surgery utilizing mesh to have hernias repaired.

Hernia Mesh Repair Lawsuits Against Ethicon, Atrium

Hernia mesh lawsuits have been consolidated in cases against Ethicon Inc. and Atrium Medical Corp., both manufacturers of hernia mesh implants.

Ethicon’s Physiomesh Flexible Composite mesh has sparked hernia mesh repair cases currently pending in a federal court in Georgia. Ethicon is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. According to plaintiffs, Physiomesh can disintegrate and tear, leading to intestinal obstruction and infections.

Physiomesh consists of five layers. Two layers of polyglecaprone-25 (Monocryl) film cover two other layers of polydioxanone film, which coat a polypropylene mesh. Ethicon claimed the multi-layer coating actually was intended to prevent or reduce the possibilities of adhesions and inflammation. Instead, the impermeable multi-layer coating can allegedly allow bacteria to grow and prevent fluid from escaping, leading to infection.

The hernia mesh repair lawsuits involving Physiomesh indicate the product costs significantly more than competitive mesh products because of the multi-layer aspect. But according to plaintiffs, the multiple layers do not appear to benefit consumers at all. If anything, the multiple layers allegedly create an increased risk of complications.

Hernia mesh repair lawsuits against Atrium’s C-Qur products are centralized in a federal court in New Hampshire. An Omega 3 fatty acid fish oil substance coats the outside of the Atrium C-Qur mesh. Anyone with fish allergies could develop a severe, or even fatal, allergic reaction to the coating, according to plaintiffs in these Atrium lawsuits.

A chemical needed to keep the hernia mesh repair product sterile needs adequate moisture to effectively prevent infection, but Atrium is accused of failing to keep the moisture balance at an adequate level to prevent infection risks. That same lack of moisture can cause the fish oil coating to stick to the packaging upon opening, creating more potential problems for the patient and increasing the risks of a hernia mesh reaction.

In addition, the Atrium C-Qur line of hernia mesh repair products are made of a polypropylene surgical netting that plaintiffs say is not known to be compatible with human tissue. Polypropylene is a polymer plastic that has known tendencies to shrink, corrode or twist once implanted. The body can reject the mesh, leading to inflammation, infection, scar tissue and other complications.

A 2012 FDA warning letter was sent to Atrium noting that the manufacturing and sterilization processes for the C-Qur hernia mesh had been changed without proper tests being done in advance. The FDA also drew attention to numerous infections related to the mesh that Atrium had neither investigated, nor reported.

As a further indicator of improper manufacturing processes, Atrium reportedly allowed supposedly sterile mesh products to be produced with pieces of human hair embedded in them, according to the FDA.

If you or someone you love has undergone hernia mesh repair surgery and developed complications due to Ethicon Physiomesh or Atrium C-Qur products, you could be eligible for compensation through legal representation.