Plaintiff Linda P. says she was implanted with the Proceed Ventral Patch on Jan. 24, 2017, at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital in Owensboro, Kentucky, during a surgery to repair her hernia.

After the surgery, Linda claims that she suffered complications relating to infection stemming from the mesh, and required a ventral hernia mesh repair surgery on Dec. 5, 2017. During this surgery, Linda had the infected mesh removed. The lawsuit says she also needed a resection of her lower abdomen wound, repair of recurrent abdominal hernia, and a complex abdominal defect closure. Linda’s medical records allegedly indicate that the infected mesh was difficult to resect due to the numerous adhesions between her internal organs and the mesh.

Linda claims that despite her ventral hernia mesh repair surgery, she continues to suffer side effects from the mesh. These side effects include severe pain, hernia recurrence, nausea, chills, inflammation, loss of appetite, and stress. Linda further claims that her choice of the Proceed Ventral Patch was a result of misinformation by Ethicon and that her suffering is a direct result of their defective design.

According to Linda’s ventral hernia mesh repair lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon should have known that their hernia mesh patches were capable of causing harm to patients. Linda claims that the corporations were aware that one of the materials used in their patches, oxidized regenerated cellulose, was capable of causing patients to develop thick adhesions between their organs and the mesh.

Linda further claims that polypropylene, another material used in the mesh, could elicit a chronic inflammatory response in patients, making it more likely for them to experience an infection. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the corporations used gamma radiation to sterilize the mesh patches, despite knowing that polypropylene will degrade and become brittle upon exposure to gamma radiation.

The lawsuit alleges that weakness caused by this sterilization method makes it more likely for the mesh to tear away from the stitches after it has been implanted.

What is Hernia Mesh?

A hernia is a bulge created when an organ or intestine pushes through a weak spot or hole in the muscle or connective tissue surrounding it. Often, this occurs in the abdomen, although it may also occur in the thigh, groin, belly button, or along an incision or scar.

Surgical hernia mesh can be used to repair these injuries. The mesh is used to provide additional support to the weak tissue and provides reinforcement to the repaired hernia.

Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

Although hernia mesh is used in hundreds of thousands of surgeries each year, multiple lawsuits claim that patients have suffered extreme injuries due to this surgical implant. If you have been implanted with hernia mesh and have suffered side effects, including the need to undergo further surgeries, you may be entitled to pursue compensation for your damages.

Linda’s Ventral Hernia Mesh Repair Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-16856-FLW-DEA in the United States District Court for the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County.