C.R. Bard and subsidiary Davol Inc. are facing negligence allegations from a woman from Illinois, who claims she suffered serious health complications from the company’s Ventralight ST mesh.

The woman recently filed a hernia mesh lawsuit, alleging the companies failed to warn her against the potential device complications they knew or should have known were associated with the Ventralight ST mesh.

According to the hernia mesh lawsuit, plaintiff Ladena S. had been recommended the Vetralight ST mesh by her physician after reviewing the companies’ marketing materials. Ladena and her physician were assured that the Ventralight ST mesh was a reliable choice for hernia treatment, with the advertisements making no mention of potential device complications.

Ladena notes that the advertisements mentioned the ST coating surrounding the Ventralight ST mesh, which is supposed to cause an inflammatory response to encourage the surrounding tissue to swell and repair itself.

With these benefits in mind, Ladena says she underwent hernia repair surgery on June 13, 2016 in Missouri and had reportedly suffered no initial complications.

Overview of Hernia Mesh Complications

However, not long after the hernia mesh repair surgery, Ladena reportedly began suffering serious device complications and eventually had to undergo revision surgery.

According to the hernia mesh lawsuit, Ladena underwent the revision surgery on Aug. 4, 2016. The complaint alleges that the surgeons noted a hematoma had formed and that it began draining during the procedure.

The hernia mesh lawsuit alleges that the ST coating on the Ventralight ST mesh had directly contributed to Ladena’s condition, due to the inflammatory reaction it initiated. Other hernia mesh products have a similar coating to initiate a swelling reaction as well, such as the Atrium C-Qur hernia mesh, and have also been associated with adverse side effects.

When the coating on these products initiate swelling and inflammation, it is supposed to eventually settle and help encourage tissue repair in a hernia. When the inflammation does not go down, it can lead to infection and can quickly compound the patient’s condition.

This sustained inflammation can lead to the patient developing a serious fever and bacterial infection in the surgical area, which can only be resolved through revision surgery. The other device complications associated with hernia mesh includes mesh migration, mesh erosion, mesh rejection, adhesion formation, and fever.

Early signs of hernia mesh failure include lack of healing in the incision site, along with heat radiating from the site as well. Even if hernia mesh failure is detected at an early stage, revision surgery is often the only treatment method that can resolve these complications.

In result of the allegedly defective nature of the Ventralight ST mesh, Ladena has been forced to contend with long lasting complications after the revision surgery including irritable bowel syndrome, hernia recurrence, and nausea. Ladena will most likely have to undergo intense medical treatment for some time to come, in the alleged result of the Ventralight ST mesh.

Ladena states she would not have agreed to have the Ventralight ST mesh implanted, if she had known of the potential device complications associated with the product. Ladena is seeking multiple damages in her hernia mesh lawsuit, including multiple counts of negligence and failure to warn.

This Hernia Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-04108-GAF, in the U.S. District Court of Western Missouri.