Injuries from Surgical Mesh Failures

When patients go in for surgery, the worst they should expect is to manage pain while they heal. This does not always happen though when certain medical devices are used in the surgical treatment of patients. Medical devices like hernia mesh can cause serious problems if they are used and fail.

When mesh is used, it is added to the body for support as a permanent or temporary solution. Surgical mesh can be made up of non-absorbable synthetic polymers, absorbable synthetic polymers, and biological materials sourced from cows and pigs. When using the non-biological synthetic polymers, they can break down in the body and become exposed over time, leading to pain. Other complications include mesh contraction, where the mesh can shrink or tighten and adhesion, leading to scarring that sticks tissue together. Companies try to prevent this by coating them in different substances, but the body can absorb the coating and the mesh can adhere multiple tissues together. Mesh can also adhere to the intestines, leading to a bowel obstruction.

If surgical mesh fails or causes any of the above symptoms, doctors need to perform surgery to remove it. It can take multiple surgeries over time to remove the mesh and what is used to attach it to the body. Doctors also must reconstruct the area that was damaged, leading to more surgeries in the future. More mesh might also need to be inserted to fix any issues, which can then fail again and cause more problems. Using something that has previously failed to fix the same problem is not ideal and needs to be prevented in the first place.

No one deserves to have a surgical mesh fail, leading to horrible pain and body damage. Medical device manufacturers need to properly test and develop their products to ensure they are safe and effective for consumers. If a company rushes a product to market or does not test it long enough, people suffer in the end. If you had surgical mesh fail in your body leading to pain and discomfort, you could be entitled to compensation. Contact us today to see what we can do for you. Call 412-471-3980 or fill out our contact form and one of our staff will get back to you as soon as we can.

Sources:

“Hernia Surgical Mesh Implants” FDA (February 4, 2018). [Link]

“Surgical Mesh: Use and Complications in Women” Cleveland Clinic (August 9, 2016). [Link]