When you visit a doctor and tell her you're in pain, she'll likely ask you to describe what you're feeling. Is it a dull ache? Is it a sharp stabbing sensation? Does the pain radiate through your body? Sometimes you're able to express your physical pain with words, but other times words can't really capture how you're feeling.

As a product liability lawyer, I often ask the same kinds of questions of injured people who approach me to represent them. If some of the descriptions offered by victims of faulty and defective transvaginal mesh come even close to approximating their physical pain, it sounds like a horror most of us could only imagine.

Some of these women compare the mesh to a cheese grater, nicking off pieces of tissue. Others say it feels as though they are living with a window screen or sharp knives inside their bodies. Still others have called it a waking nightmare as severe pain forces them to spend entire days in a warm bathtub trying to find some sense relief.

In this blog post, I look at what transvaginal mesh is, why so many women have experienced problems with some types of this material, and what can be done if you're suffering from physical pain or other issues relating to defective mesh.

Transvaginal Mesh

A surgical net-like material usually made from polypropylene plastic, transvaginal mesh has been used to replace, bridge, or otherwise strengthen tissue in the vaginal wall that has either stretched or become too weak to support surrounding organs.

Certain conditions or risk factors such as childbirth, hysterectomy, menopause, or aging can weaken a woman's abdominal muscles and result in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Implanting this surgical mesh transvaginally (or sometimes through the abdomen) became a popular alternative to the previously common use of dissolvable sutures in procedures to correct POPs or SUIs. The permanence and durability of this material (originally designed for hernias) appeared to reduce the risk vaginal surgeries would fail.

When the material works as it is intended, it can greatly improve the quality of life for women who have suffered from discomfort, frequent urinary tract infections or incontinence related to physical exertion.

Side Effects of Defective Mesh

The permanence and durability of the mesh that makes it so effective can also be part of the problem when side-effects do occur. Common issues include:

  • Erosion: A woman's soft tissue where the mesh is implanted can continue to wear and the mesh may push through, even becoming visible externally. Erosion can lead to conditions like recurrent urinary tract infection and pain during sexual intercourse.
  • Perforation: Erosion may cause the mesh to puncture and otherwise perforate organ walls (usually the bladder, rectum, or urethra). In these cases, serious infections usually require remedial surgery to remove the mesh or correct leakage from organs (for example, a colostomy). Left untreated, these infections can result in septic shock (blood poisoning).
  • Chronic/acute pain: The mesh can cause nerve damage, neuromuscular problems, bruising, bleeding and scarring, leading to a variety of types of pain.

Other conditions known to occur include: fistulas, autoimmune issues, mesh contraction, and emotional problems relating to dealing with these side-effects.

You Are Not Alone

If you have had transvaginal mesh implanted and these descriptions of pain and side-effects sound terribly familiar, you should know you are not alone. Unfortunately, women from around the world have had similar side effects. Corrective revision surgeries have brought relief to some of them, but sadly sometimes there is permanent physical damage.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.