We are fielding many calls from concerned plaintiffs regarding their implanted Transvaginal Mesh medical device.
According to the Public Citizen watchdog group, the surgical mesh products made by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) to correct falling pelvic organs in women should be immediately recalled because of painful side effects.
Public Citizen, said that mesh products made of non-absorbable synthetic material can erode and cause pain, bleeding and urinary incontinence. The mesh is implanted through incisions made in the wall of the vagina to reinforce the tissues around the pelvic organs.
Surgical mesh is a medical device that is generally used to repair weakened or damaged tissue. It is made from porous absorbable or non-absorbable synthetic material or absorbable biologic material. In urogynecologic procedures, surgical mesh is permanently implanted to reinforce the weakened vaginal wall to repair pelvic organ prolapse or to support the urethra to treat urinary incontinence.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) occurs when the tissues that hold the pelvic organs in place become weak or stretched. Thirty to fifty percent of women may experience POP in their lifetime with 2 percent developing symptoms. When POP happens, the organs bulge (prolapse) into the vagina and sometimes prolapse past the vaginal opening. More than one pelvic organ can prolapse at the same time. Organs that can be involved in POP include the bladder, the uterus, the rectum, the top of the vagina (vaginal apex) after a hysterectomy, and the bowel.
Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a leakage of urine during moments of physical activity, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise.
On Oct. 20, 2008, the FDA issued a Public Health Notification and Additional Patient Information on serious complications associated with surgical mesh placed through the vagina (transvaginal placement) to treat POP and SUI.
Based on an updated analysis of adverse events reported to the FDA and complications described in the scientific literature, the FDA identified surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of POP as an area of continuing serious concern.
The FDA is issuing this July update to inform that serious complications associated with surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of POP are not rare. It is not clear that transvaginal POP repair with mesh is more effective than traditional non-mesh repair in all patients with POP and it may expose patients to greater risk. This Safety Communication provides updated recommendations for health care providers and patients and updates the FDA’s activities involving surgical mesh for the transvaginal repair of POP. Read the FDA PDF Report here.
In order to better understand the use of surgical mesh for POP and SUI, the FDA conducted a systematic review of the published scientific literature from 1996 – 2011 to evaluate its safety and effectiveness. The review showed that transvaginal POP repair with mesh does not improve symptomatic results or quality of life over traditional non-mesh repair. The FDA continues to evaluate the literature for SUI surgeries using surgical mesh and will report about that usage at a later date.
The literature review revealed that:
Mesh used in transvaginal POP repair introduces risks not present in traditional non-mesh surgery for POP repair.
Mesh placed abdominally for POP repair appears to result in lower rates of mesh complications compared to transvaginal POP surgery with mesh.
There is no evidence that transvaginal repair to support the top of the vagina (apical repair) or the back wall of the vagina (posterior repair) with mesh provides any added benefit compared to traditional surgery without mesh.
While transvaginal surgical repair to correct weakened tissue between the bladder and vagina (anterior repair) with mesh augmentation may provide an anatomic benefit compared to traditional POP repair without mesh, this anatomic benefit may not result in better symptomatic results.
Public Citizen, estimates that 67,500 women had the non-absorbable mesh implanted last year. According to the Food and Drug Administration, in a safety warning July 13, the agency received 1,503 reports of complications associated with the material from January 2008 to December 2010 when used to repair pelvic organ prolapse.
“Even the FDA seriously questions the safety and effectiveness of these mesh products, so they should be removed from the market immediately,” Michael Carome, deputy director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said in a statement.
The material is made by at least nine manufacturers, according to the FDA.
Public Citizen wants the FDA to require manufacturers to recall non-absorbable surgical mesh devices and future versions to be subject to more stringent approval requirements.
