Endo International, a global health care company, has announced it will shut down its vaginal mesh manufacturing unit after settling a number of vaginal mesh lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions in settlement money.

The vaginal mesh manufacturing unit, Astora Woman’s Health, has been implicated in a number of lawsuits over vaginal mesh complications. These vaginal mesh lawsuits have cost Endo International $2 billion in recent history. Endo International attempted to sell Astora Woman’s Health, but failed to do so, which then led the company to shut the group down entirely, apparently to avoid further lawsuits.

Vaginal Mesh Complications

Vaginal mesh products, also known as bladder slings, are used to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP) as well as female stress urinary incontinence.

Over a 100,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed across the country by women who have experienced a myriad of severe and painful complications from the medical mesh products. For some women, the medical mesh eroded through the vagina, which causes infections and other dangerous complications.

These conditions generally occur following a hysterectomy, menopause, or childbirth.

Vaginal mesh insertion is a quicker and easier process than abdominal insertion of the implants, which is why many patients are led to believe that it is the safer choice.

Mesh erosion occurs when mesh breaks apart and passes through the vaginal wall, which causes bleeding, severe pain, infection, and even nerve damage. Organ perforation is not a separate complication, but instead is the second stage of mesh erosion.

Once the mesh erodes through the vaginal wall, it can perforate other organs with its jagged edge, which can result in permanent damage.

Endo was the first major medical mesh manufacturer to settle most of its cases in May 2014. The company agreed to pay $830 million to settle vaginal mesh lawsuits. A little over a year later, the company continued to allocate $1.53 billion for litigation and settlement costs. Shortly afterward, the company set aside another $834 million specifically for vaginal mesh complications.

Defective and dangerous vaginal mesh products have incited a rising number of lawsuits in recent years. The medical mesh litigation has been increasing rapidly since 2011, when the FDA issued a warning about the thousands of adverse event reports it had received between January 2008 and December 2010 dealing with vaginal mesh products.

The FDA found that, while medical mesh implants are often marketed as the safest and most effective products for treating pelvic organ prolapse, there is actually no evidence indicating that vaginal mesh is safer or more effective than traditional POP treatment.

The FDA warned vaginal mesh manufacturers in 2012 that they should conduct further vaginal mesh studies to determine the safety and efficacy of their products to their female clientele.

In recent years, several manufacturers have ceased making vaginal mesh products.

If you or someone you know has experienced complications from vaginal mesh used to treat SUI, POP, or something else, you may have cause to file a vaginal mesh lawsuit.