Women facing pelvic mesh revision surgery are winning lawsuits against mesh manufacturers who have sold defective products.

Pelvic mesh products are intended to strengthen the repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). POP occurs when an internal organ, most often the bladder, drops from its original site and pushes against the vaginal walls. Women who have experienced childbirth can develop weakened muscles that hold the pelvic organs in place.

SUI is the accidental excretion of urine that happens when a woman coughs, sneezes, runs or lifts something. The stress on the bladder results in the unintended release of urine.

Pelvic mesh products are designed to fix both POP and SUI, but pelvic mesh revision surgery is often needed because of mesh failure.

Reasons for Pelvic Mesh Revision Surgery

The FDA never required vaginal mesh manufacturers to conduct clinical trials on people before fast-tracking their FDA approvals. This is despite the fact that one of the first mesh products approved, the ProteGen Sling, was recalled after only three years, after the FDA said it had a “higher than expected rate of vaginal erosion” and failed to work as expected. Many mesh products that followed were based on that recalled design.

Transvaginal mesh is implanted through the vagina rather than through a surgical incision. Women are more at risk of infection with transvaginal procedures because the vagina has bacteria and fungi that come into contact with the mesh before it is in place.

Even though synthetic mesh, usually made of polypropylene, is meant to be permanent, the material can erode over time. The erosion can cause small pieces of plastic to cut or perforate organs, including the bladder and intestines. Mesh can also shrink or change its shape after implantation, causing pain or infection.

Pelvic mesh revision surgery is needed in many cases of mesh erosion. Symptoms of erosion include recurring bladder infections, pelvic spasms, painful intercourse or bleeding. Ironically, leakage of urine can be another symptom, even though that could have been the reason for the mesh’s original implantation.

When tissue and blood vessels grow in and around the mesh, removing the product can take more than one pelvic mesh revision surgery. A surgeon will need to make an incision through the vaginal wall and repair vaginal tissue by sewing it back together. Other damaged organs require surgical repair as well.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in its September 2015 issue that one in 30 women will need pelvic mesh revision surgery in under 10 years.

Dr. Blayne Welk of the Department of Surgery at Western University, St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario, Canada led the examination of nearly 60,000 women who underwent SUI treatment with implantable mesh. The women’s average age was 52.

If you have needed pelvic mesh revision surgery due to a failed mesh implant, you could qualify for compensation through legal representation.