Atrium Medical Corp. faces a California woman’s recent hernia surgery mesh lawsuit alleging that her hernia mesh was defective and led to serious injuries.

Plaintiff Kimberly B. files the hernia surgery mesh lawsuit joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company. The lawsuit was filed in New Hampshire federal court.

Kimberly was implanted with the C-Qur Mesh V-Patch on June 30, 2011 and the C-Qur TacShield on Jan. 20, 2015, the hernia surgery mesh lawsuit states.  Kimberly adds, however, that due to severe adverse side effects and complications she suffered, the V-Patch mesh was explanted on Jan. 20, 2015, while the Tacshield was explanted on May 23, 2016.

According to the hernia surgery mesh lawsuit, the hernia mesh was both implanted and explanted at Oroville Hospital in California. The injuries she suffered, as listed in the mesh lawsuit, include “mesh failure requiring placement of new mesh to repair defect, extensive adhesions, umbilical hernia mesh contracture with seroma, mesh infection, mesh folding, and pain.”

Her hernia surgery mesh lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including: negligence; design defect; manufacturing defect; failure to warn; defective product; breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranties; fraudulent concealment; constructive fraud; discovery rule, tolling and fraudulent concealment; negligent misrepresentation; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and violation of consumer protection laws, among others.

Overview: Hernia Surgery Mesh

Patients implanted with the C-Qur hernia mesh have complained of complications resulting from adhesions, autoimmune reactions to the mesh, nerve damage, bowel or intestinal blockage, pain and bleeding, and seroma or fluid buildup at the surgery site. Other injuries and C-Qur mesh problems reported, some of which require revision surgery, have also included:

• Infection
• Mesh migration
• Mesh shrinkage
• Organ damage
• Nerve damage
• Recurring hernia
• Bleeding
• Pain
• Swelling and redness
• Internal scar tissue

Hernia surgical mesh is a device that adds support to weakened or damaged tissue. Types of hernia mesh manufactured by Atrium include the C-Qur, Vitamesh, Proloop, Prolite, and Prolite Ultra.

However, complications reported with Atrium Medical’s C-Qur product have been blamed on the unique coating the hernia mesh utilizes from fish oil.

Atrium claims that the coating minimizes tissue attachment to mesh and prevents the mesh from touching internal organs. However, according to plaintiffs like Kimberly, clinical trials studying the safety and effectiveness of the C-Qur Hernia mesh have found that, in fact, the fish oil coating interferes with tissue ingrowth into the mesh, leading to these severe adverse side effects and complications.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “the most common adverse events following hernia repair with mesh are pain, infection, hernia recurrence, adhesion, and bowel obstruction. Some other potential adverse events that can occur following hernia repair with mesh are mesh migration and mesh shrinkage (contraction).”

The FDA adds that a number of “complications related to hernia repair with surgical mesh that have been reported to the FDA have been associated with recalled mesh products that are no longer on the market.”

The Hernia Surgery Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-00377, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. The Hernia Mesh MDL is In re: Atrium Medical Corp., C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No 2753, in the same U.S. District Court.