A lawsuit against transvaginal mesh product manufacturer American Medical Systems (AMS) alleges that the company fraudulently concealed the dangers of its devices and is in violation of consumer protection laws.

Endo International acquired AMS for about $2.6 billion in April 2011, as the lawsuits over vaginal mesh and bladder sling products previously sold by the company were beginning to mount. Among products marketed by AMS for transvaginal mesh treatment were the AMS Pedigree, AMS Apogee, and AMS Elevate implants.

The most recent vaginal sling lawsuits filed and joining the AMS MDL come from Mississippi plaintiff Christy C. contends that the MiniArc Sling, a vaginal sling device, implanted surgically in July 2011 was negligently designed, thereby causing serious vaginal mesh complications.

Vaginal Mesh Side Effects

Vaginal mesh (also known as pelvic mesh) is a medical device implanted to treat Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP). These common, debilitating conditions occur in women who have weakened muscles in the pelvic floor.

When the mesh is implanted (usually transvaginally, through incisions in the vagina) it supports these muscles and prevents organs from descending.

Vaginal mesh is associated with some severe side effects. One of the most common is erosion of the mesh into nearby tissues. Mesh erosion through the vaginal tissue can cause pain, bleeding and infection. The mesh can also perforate or damage internal organs — including the intestines, bladder, blood vessels, nerves, and more.

In 2011, the FDA warned about a previously unidentified risk — contraction of the mesh, which could cause severe pain and vaginal disfigurement. Many vaginal mesh side effects require corrective surgery — but even with surgery, some of the side effects may be permanent.

Vaginal mesh complications may include:

• Erosion of the mesh into the vagina
• Organ perforation
• Infection
• Nerve damage
• Disfigurement of the vagina
• Contraction of the mesh
• Scarring
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Inability to engage in sexual intercourse
• Disfigurement of the vagina
• Emotional trauma
• Need for revision surgeries

American Medical Systems MDL

Earlier this year, Endo announced it had reached agreements to settle more than 22,000 AMS vaginal mesh lawsuits for $830 million. However, this agreement still left thousands of vaginal mesh claims unresolved.

In addition to claims involving AMS mesh, more than 50,000 other lawsuits are pending nationwide against manufacturers of similar transvaginal mesh products, including Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Coloplast Corp, Cook Medical, Neomedic and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon.

While some of the lawsuits are scattered throughout state courts, most of the vaginal mesh litigation is pending in the federal court system, where seven different federal multidistrict litigations (MDLs) have been established before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia.

That’s to help reduce duplicative discovery in the cases, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings from different judges and to serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the courts.

If you were injured by AMS vaginal sling or other transvaginal mesh device, you may still have time to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries. Thousands of people have suffered from chronic mesh pain, mesh erosion, infection, organ perforation, revision surgeries, and other serious injuries.

This Vaginal Sling Lawsuit is Civil Action No. 2:15-CV-012949, and the AMS Vaginal Mesh MDL is In re American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2325, U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston Division.