A new report published by the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS) has found that thousands of women in the United Kingdom may have experienced avoidable vaginal mesh complications due to a failure by the medical community to listen to their concerns. The review team found that many women had their medical concerns and chronic severe pain dismissed as “women’s problems.” While the review was set up to address these concerns, its authors make clear that others “could and should have listened and taken action before.”

If you developed painful complications after your surgery, you may wish to file a vaginal mesh complications class action lawsuit. You may be able to get compensation for your medical costs and pain and suffering.

Uses of Vaginal Mesh

The use of vaginal mesh and vaginal mesh surgery is tightly restricted by the National Health Service (NHS). The procedure can only be used if no other alternatives have been found. Before the procedure, the doctor is required to conduct a “detailed discussion” into the procedure and may only conduct the surgery if it “cannot be delayed.”

The Independent reports that this recommendation came from the NHS in 2018 as a result of growing concerns from the IMMDS regarding vaginal mesh complications following surgery. While the procedure has been relatively common for twenty year, the “long-term risk profile” remains unknown, according to the report.

Vaginal mesh surgery is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. The mesh is used to reinforce weakened or damaged tissue in the bladder or pelvic area.

Vagnial Mesh Complications

The damage that can be caused to patients’ bodies by vaginal mesh complications can be devastating. The review team interviewed women across the United Kingdom who had been affected by vaginal mesh issues. They found women who said they experienced “excruciating chronic pain feeling like razors inside their body, damage to organs, the loss of mobility and sex life and depression and suicidal thoughts” after their vaginal mesh surgery.

“We met so many women with limited mobility having to rely on a wheelchair or crutches to move around, unable to sit for periods at a time, unable to play with their children or carry their grandchildren, living daily with the consequences of the operations and procedures they thought would cure them,” the report reads.

Despite the severity of these issues, the report states that many in the medical community were “dismissive and unhelpful” to patients. The report describes women’s “struggle to be heard” and “not being believed.”

“The effects of these procedures have caused fractured relationships for some and placed women and their families in dire financial straits. In short, the system does not know the true long-term complication rate for pelvic mesh procedures.”

Medical Bias Against Women

The review covered the effects of a “disjointed, siloed, unresponsive and defensive” healthcare system on patients who had undergone vaginal mesh surgery, been treated with the epilepsy drug sodium valproate, or had used the hormone pregnancy test Primodos. The review found that the system was unequipped to deal with these patients’ concerns and indeed put them in danger.

The review found that a lack of willingness to believe patient concerns by medical professionals led to “far reaching” consequences and “immediately sets the tone for a patient-clinician consultation that is far from equal and precludes any form of shared decision-making around future care and treatment”.

“The patient is vulnerable and feels unable to challenge and question. The patient is ignored and feels belittled,” the NHS report reads. This issue is especially important for patients whose doctors recommend vaginal mesh surgery. There are requirements in place stipulating that patients need to be fully briefed on this surgery prior to undergoing it, but an imbalance in the doctor-patient relationship could lead to patients not asking questions regarding this potentially dangerous procedure.

Another particularly worrying issue covered in the report is the alleged altering of medical records by medical professionals. Some women who reported discomfort or pain after surgery told the review that their records were either “missing” or “altered” in an attempt to cover up their concerns.

“Women have confided in us their concerns about deliberate cover ups, and have shown us medical notes that appear that have been amended,” the report states.

Should You File a Vaginal Mesh Complication Class Action Lawsuit?

The review calls for the government to issue an apology “on behalf of the healthcare system” to the families of those who unnecessarily suffered as a result of vaginal mesh complications. It also recommends new pelvic floor education be added in schools and antenatal classes. It also requests “an audit to establish complication rates… [for] women who had mesh insertions in 2010” and calls for the medical community to come to a consensus on terminology and definitions surrounding the procedure.

However, if you’ve suffered painful complications as a result of vaginal mesh surgery, you may wish to file a vaginal mesh complications class action lawsuit to seek compensation for your suffering and added medical expenses.