Between aging, having children or suffering any number of injuries, many women experience pelvic floor disorders. Pelvic mesh is an available treatment option for such issues. Unfortunately, as is true for all medical devices, complications can arise from the use of transvaginal mesh.
Doctors have been using pelvic mesh to treat pelvic floor disorders for years. Obviously, as time goes on, there are improvements in material and how doctors perform procedures. However, nothing is perfect. If you have suffered complications after going through a transvaginal mesh procedure, what can you do? Can you seek compensation for your losses?
What is pelvic mesh and what disorders is it used to treat?
Pelvic mesh is a thin layer of synthetic or animal tissue that a doctor attaches to a weakened area on the pelvic floor. This simply provides extra support to the damaged spot.
Medical providers use surgical mesh to treat a number of disorders. For women, pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence are the two main reasons that women go through pelvic mesh procedures. To fix POP, your medical provider can attach mesh to the vaginal wall either through the abdomen or the vagina. To address SUI, a doctor puts support mesh in place through the vagina.
Complications
In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration classified pelvic mesh as a high-risk device for treating POP. Potential complications include:
- Bleeding
- Mesh erosion
- Pain
- Urinary problems
- Infection
- Organ perforation
The FDA has also warned that the use of mesh to treat SUI also carries serious risks. Potential complications include:
- Infection
- Pain
- Mesh erosion
To address complications from a POP or SUI repair, surgery or other treatments are often required.
If I have experienced complications after a pelvic mesh procedure, can I seek compensation?
Possibly. If you have experienced any of the above noted complications or any other unusual symptoms after having pelvic mesh implanted, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses. An experienced attorney will have to review the specific details of your case, however, before you can pursue any legal actions.
Get answers to your questions
Bringing cases against medical device companies or even medical providers when complications arise is not necessarily easy. These cases take time to review, investigate and bring to trial or settle out of court. If you think you have a case but are not sure what to do about it, an experienced attorney can answer your questions and help you decide the best way to proceed.