Hernia Mesh (Page 1)

I agree with you on this problem, it is terrible what is happening to us all.
These meshes are causing so many problems for a lot of people. Even if your mesh has not been recalled the only way the FDA will know about problems is by filling out the form mentioned above. You may also want to contact the manufacturer of the mesh.
Get copies of your medical records make sure they include the operative report, on this form it should say what type of mesh was used with a product and lot number. If it's not on that form then ask them for this information. It is very important to have this info when filing a complaint. You would be surprised at how medical records can disappear.
Please if you are in any pain listen to your body, it's not in your head this is a real problem.

Hi, i had a heria mesh put in for an umblicatal hernia on my belly betton due due a pevious operation and two weeks later was rushed into hospital with a trapped bowel caused by the mesh? they then opened me up and tryed to fix it and didnt put the mesh back in but have since had lots of problems including sickness and upset stomach. can you advise if you think this is a normal problem

Do you know the type of mesh that was removed?

Hi, i had a heria mesh put in for an umblicatal hernia on my belly betton due due a pevious operation and two weeks later was rushed into hospital with a trapped bowel caused by the mesh? they then opened me up and tryed to fix it and didnt put the mesh back in but have since had lots of problems including sickness and upset stomach. can you advise if you think this is a normal problem

Please tell us the mesh product and manufacturer that was the problem. Thank you

Id like to know what mesh it was as well.

I would be very interested in any kind of help/suggestions. I had proceed mesh lot number xhg272 use by 2006-12 in 2006 and then due to another hernia and other problems another surgery in2007 its says on 2006 post op report there was a defect although was not told that at the time. Since surgery I have never been right stomach swells often I am uncomfortable. In the last 3 months its been the same achy pain, but now with sharper pain and sometimes low grade fever. I have had 3 cat scans, 2 ultra sounds, colonoscopy, many x-rays and everything has been normal, however they did find a hematoma bleeding in my bladder which was cortrized. I can't work as the pain sometimes is bad, the dr's are not helpful...I do see a supposedly good surgeon next week as they can find nothing wrong with me. I am just miserable....so any help would be great

hi i have same problem i read this to my daughter and she said this sounds good she thought i wrote it exactly the same problem what can be done

hi i have same problem i read this to my daughter and she said this sounds good she thought i wrote it exactly the same problem what can be done

Good day:
I had mesh inserted in September of 2009.
Proceed mesh, 12 by 15 cm.
Went to surgeon for inguinal pain. No inguinal hernia, but surgeon put mesh in any way.
Since mesh was put in am in constant pain in groin area.
I have developed what rheum. is calling a seronegative spondyloarthropathy. I have a gut feeling that auto-immune disease is being caused by fibrosis from mesh in abdomen.
Abdomen always feels swollen and full in mesh area.
I did not even know where mesh was located until x-ray of hip this past year.
Am making plans now to try to get mesh removed.
Am being crippled by inflammation of tendons and bones in hips. Believe mesh is caused.
Question: has anybody else had this type of reaction to mesh? I can find very few links on the web concerning mesh and auto-immune disease.
Many are anecdotal, and many are 404, having been removed.
I have posted on other forums on this site. I believe all of this stems from a 9 cm seroma I formed after hysterectomy for endometrial cancer.
Any input would be appreciated.

I just received my surgical report on tne ventral hernia repair that I had last August which had to be done again 2 months later just as I began to feel normal. The type of mesh that was used, according to the Dr.s report was Proceed which is manufactured by Ethicon. That was the first surgery which was an open surgery. ( loads of pain and inability to participate in many physical activities: you don't realize how much you use those muscles in your chest/ stomac area til you have them cut! Coughing , sneezing, even laughing is a nightmare). On the second surgical report he referrred to the larger patch as a light weight Bard mesh. The procedure was done laprascopically this time. In post op visit he told me that the hospital had started using this different type of mesh and that he was keeping trak of it because of the hernia recurrance which seemed to be greater with this type. Oh Great! My whole Fall was one big Recovery festival because the hospital was trying something new'.

Order your med records from both your surgeon and your hospital. You have a right to a hard copy of them. You just have to sign a release. Let the FDA know about the brand and all the fun you had with it in your body.

I wanted to get my two cents in on Hernia repair with mesh. I had my left side done three years ago with the open procedure. They found multiple hernias and had to repair the entire abdominal wall with mesh and plugs. A month ago I had the right side done using the Laproscopic repair using the mesh. This time they repaired two large hernias on my right side using the mesh.

I have not had any problems whatsoever with the first hernia repair that was done three years ago. So far the one on my right side seems to be find. I have some discomfort from the swelling but it's getting better each day. I only needed pain medicine for the first 10 days. Yesterday and today, I didn't even have to take a Motrin or Tylenol.

The amount of daily discomfort that I used to have from my hernias was very annoying. I'm very happy that I've gotten them taken care of. As everyone know, they never get better, only worst.

I am 59 years old and expect to be back at the gym in about three weeks. I'm very thankful for the mesh and how well it's worked for me. I noticed that a lot of these posts are from many years ago. Maybe the product they were using back then is different than what they are using today. What they used on me in 2009 and earlier this month is working very well.

I had my surgeries done Brigham Women's in Boston. I thought I should mention that incase there are different mesh products being used elsewhere across the country. I would be surprised if the medical community wasn't standardized on the product they are using but you never know.

Anyway, thanks for reading my post. There's apparently a lot of people who are unhappy with the mesh, but there are a lot of us who are very happy with the mesh.

Best Regards,
Lon

has anyone ever had the mesh removed successfully and is healthy and happy now? I ca't find anywhere someone saying this happened.

to all
please do not hesitate to pm me if you are suffering from a hernia mesh or mesh implant, there is much you need to know and what you face.

How do u determain if it's the mesh giving u problems when the doctors won't listen at all desperately in need of answers and tired of hurting plz contact me asap

I had central mesh hernia surgery about a month ago
and am still swollen and feel like a freaking ballon. I have the t-anchors and it constantly feels if I'm being pulled forward. What can I do? Any advice is appreciated.
Help please. Thanks

I'd like to talk to you about bio mesh products. I've scheduled hernia repair surgery at UCLA and want to find out what mesh manuf and products to look out for. Thanks

Jim

Do you have any more information on the meshes and the FDA?

Butterfly,
what is it you would like to know?I have quite a bit of info on how the FDA is progressing. Again, to everyone else, if you are having complications from a mesh implant please fill out an Adverse Event Report, it does not take to much time and is very essential in helping getting you better. You should also fill out an adverse event report for any implant or deficient health care, it really is a very helpful tool.

I'm a 43yr old female , I had a abd hernia repair in 2005 with a mesh patch used, recently I have unexplained abd symptoms..first of all let me mention when I had the surgery within 3 weeks it was infected the suture line would not close and and an internal abd suture that was suppose to desolve kept sticking out, then that was removed ,I was put on antiobitocs and it closed, reccently I have had unexplained various abd syptoms within the past year , a low b12 so low I need to give myself b12 injections every 2 weeks I have had and abd US they haven't called with the results, I am fatuigued extremley blaoted esp after meals, excuse me but extrememly foal smelling gas..I can't button any of my pants anymore..my abd is so huge esp after meals I look at least 6mo. pregnant I feel as it will pop..I have various bowel movements, some yellow, some reg in color, but mostly flaky and diarrhea and upper abd pain, I wake up every morning, with the need to have a BM..and early I have at least 4-5..the pain is not bad or bm's if I don't eat but I am becoming depressed and this is no way to live..I also have indigestion in am before meals (ON AN EMPTY STOAMCH!)..and after heartburn, and my stomach feels like it's on fire after eating..my doctor has given me an RX for flagyl ,he's thinking it maybe and intestinal colitis, of some kind,or IBS... but hey ,this has been going on for 6 mo the flagyl did not work..then he ordered an ultrasound and from the labs seen my b12 was so low, I have it seems ia disfigured belly, a bump where the surgery was and off to the left, the size of an egg.that's where it hurts, when it hurts)..I have nauseau , at times..I feel this is all so coincidental and started surfing the internet and found this re: mesh patches!! it 's unbelievable..I think there may be a connection., that or from surfing I have s/s of ovarian cancer YIKES (cuz I haven't had a gyn check in 2 yrs.) HELP is there a doc out there that can give his opnion asap.! suffering.

Just now reading your post and I have those same symptoms and I had mesh put in back in December 2006. Can you tell me what you found out?

I had hernia mesh surgery at the end of July and for the first six weeks, while I was recuperating , I was fine. However, within the past three months, I feel abdominal pain, stretching, extreme pain. I thought it was just me and my imagination. I am an athlete and take tremendous pride in my physique, what types of food I place in my mouth, and I maintain a healthy outlook.

I thought it was my imagination.....

It is not..

David

Why don't you get a gyn check?

There has been tremendous medical denial about mesh problems (infections, adhesions, migrations, and especially mesh rejection). The med's haven't wanted to admit this, until the situation got so bad it's now all over the place. Who knows, the Kugel Patch horror may prove to be just the tip of a huge iceberg.......

This is the everyday surgical procedure that is so often billed as "a piece of cake...... so simple, so easy, so safe, nothing to worry about......"

When I tell friends about the mesh situation, they don't know WHAT I'm even talking about. Even those with hernias don't know. They think I'm making it up. Until I show them some of the websites, reports, studies, etc.

Personally I'm scared to death to have hernia surgery due to this and am doing "watchful waiting" in the HOPE & PRAYER that they ditch the plastic meshes and come up with something much safer......fast.

I recently saw one research site which said that plastic meshes will probably be phased out "during the next five years......" How nice.

If I could, I'd go to to the Shouldice Hernia Clinic in Toronto, the world's best hernia hospital, where they NEVER use mesh. They always get top ratings in terms of recurrences and complications (both virtually nil). Also Dr Desarda's Hernia Clinic in India. No mesh. Ever. Due to the horror-list of complications.

There are new "bio" meshes made of porcine (pig) intestine that are supposedly showing good results. These are natural products, rather than plastic, so they don't provoke the strong foreign-body reaction associated with plastic.

It's shocking that they are continuing to use plastic mesh when so many reports of horrible complications are showing up everywhere. Recent studies in Europe are showing chronic groin pain in 30% of hernia repair patients, and the researchers usually attribute this to mesh.

Plastic sheets left in the body? Is anyone surprised at the result?

A doc friend advised me: "no mesh. EVER". This, coming from a doc.......

Trouble is, it's often impossible to get a repair done the "old" way, because hardly any surgeons have been trained in that method since mesh repair took over in the 1990s. Very, very scary. I only hope I can hold out long enough for something safer than what's on offer now. I can't get to Toronto (or India).

Blessings and best of luck to everyone out there who is suffering with this. It's happening all over the world, wherever this practice has been employed. PLEASE, let everyone know about it. The bigger the issue becomes, the more of a chance for an improvement.

I went to the Shouldice Clinic in Toronto for a second opinion after my local surgeon advised surgery for a midline incisional hernia. At Shouldice I was told that my hernia was too large and too complicated to be done at Shouldice. They advised me the only surgeon who could do this type of hernia repair was Dr. Zane Cohen at Mount Sinai in Toronto. It was done in 2005, and mesh was put in. In 2007 I had abdominal surgery for Diverticulitis, a bowel resection. They cut through the mesh. I was ok for a few years, but in 2010 the hernia was back, bigger than ever. And I am unable to excert myself in any way. walking, making my bed, shopping, cleaning, even bending over to pick some dirt off the floor......I get an excruciating pain in my left side and I throw up. My life is over.....I spent most of my days in bed.

Your loss is extremely tragic. Please accept my fullest understanding. I've lost many friends to AIDS. Horrible.........

According to what I've been told by medical people about the AIDS virus, it must remain in surroundings at near-normal human body temperature in order to survive. How does that explain its surviving freeze-dried conditions? It shows how little they know, and how much of all this is theory.

Personally, I would like to see no more mesh of any kind. I live in hope that the med's will either develop a completely new technique that doesn't use mesh at all, or that they'll revive the famous Shouldice method that uses no mesh and is highly successful when carried out correctly.

The mesh method is quicker and more easily learned than the much more complex Shouldice technique, therefore it has taken over. Unfortunately, little did they realize all the serious problems that would start showing up..............

The med's were warned by reports in the early 1990s about the unknown dangers of implanting plastics in the human body. However a whole generation of surgeons has been trained in no other method. So there are usually no alternatives. Scary.

There are bio meshes made from porcine (pig) materials. Permacol and Surgisis are two of these; there may be more (?). These contain no human tissue and are reportedly showing promising results so far. Like you, personally I don't feel safe with the idea of human tissue implanted in my body. Nor plastic. I keep hoping........ and hoping.............

Meanwhile Cornell University recently did a hernia repair study using dogs. 50% of the mesh group developed complications. 0% of the Shouldice (non-mesh) group developed complications. Scary arithmetic. The more research you do, the scarier all this becomes. I'm in the UK. This subject is never mentioned on the news, in the media, etc. Nobody knows about it, not even the people I know with hernias. Most people think hernia surgery is "a piece of cake"........

The new bio mesh is just as bad. Had old mesh taken out an bio put in. I am in more pain than ever. I only have half of the small bowel left. I get the worse gas and I have to lay on my side to get the gas to move. This is so awful

hi i had the proceed surgical mesh put in 2008, have been in pain and agony ever since, recently collapsed on holiday where i was told the mesh was stuck and my bowel went through the mesh.

I am now wating to have the mesh removed, the doctor suggested biological mesh (pig) please please if you have any information as I am living in hell-i have developed brain lesions suffer from severe headaches and dizziyness, blood problems and bladder problems.

I am in the UK and feel lost as no doctor will help me even the private ones keep telling me its not the mesh. Help. anon73

I am with you, has anyone had an abdominal repair with pig tissue? I keep looking for information on this, it is limited.
I found this
http://www.wndu.com/mmm/headlines/59279087 .html

Please if anyone knows of someone who has had this done please comment.

My husband had an incisional hernia repair last August (2007) The surgeon used Proceed mesh mfg. by Ethicon. The leakage from the surgical incision was quite heavy and turned yellowish and had a very foul odor. The surgeon advised this was normal and he would see us in his office in a few days. When he saw my husband and the amount and odor of the leakage, he knew immediately there was a problem. My husband had a catscan which revealed a fistula which produced a hole in the bowel. They tried for 19 days, in the hospital with NO food or liquids, to clear this up with heavy doses of antibiotics administered intravenously. It didn't work and they had to do a second surgery and remove the mesh patch. He has had nothing but pain and problems since. His abdomen is constantly bloated, hard as a rock and grotesque looking. After I found this forum, I did go to the site recommended and filled out the form. I was contacted by Ethicon and asked many questions, including my permission to contact the surgeon that operated on my husband. I have NO problem with the surgeon. I have now received a letter from Ethicon explaining how great their Proceed mesh is and that the problems my husband is experiencing must be caused by an allergy to the mesh. They told me to contact my doctor for further help. Has anyone pursued a lawsuit against Ethicon? Causing this much pain and suffering to so many people is horrifying.

I'm also very, very sorry about your husband and anyone else out there who is suffering as a result of this. Yes, it's madness. And it's very scary for anyone who is contemplating possible surgery.

It does seem like ALL meshes are potentially dangerous, maybe because the body simply does not like a foreign object implanted in it. So the body tries to reject it, either by setting up a big inflammation that becomes infected, or by physically crumpling it, folding it, etc. I'm definitely not a doctor but this unfortunately seems fairly obvious, judging by all the horror stories.

Not everyone has this happen. By no means. However there are now so many posts and websites devoted to this that it appears to be a very MAJOR problem, not some oddball thing that affects a "tiny percentage" of repair patients. Which is what so many hernia surgery websites want one to believe.

Question: What do you do if you HAVE to have surgery? I'm currently doing "watchful waiting" as are at least five other people I know, two of whom are doctors (!). The reason: they, like me, are terrified of mesh complications.

However what happens if pain starts developing, and surgery becomes a must? Currently ONLY the renowned Shouldice Hernia Clinic in Toronto and Dr Desarda's Hernia Clinic in India state clearly that they never use mesh. In the UK and Europe I can't find a single place that offers non-mesh repair. Not one. From what I understand, no surgeons have been trained in non-mesh repair for at least ten years (that's when mesh repair became the "gold standard").

In the UK the issue of dangerous mesh is NOT being reported. Very few UK-based posts are to be seen on the various blogs, apart from those on the UK-based Hernia Bible website.

I have twice emailed the UK firm that makes Permacol, one of the new "bio" meshes (Surgisis is the one made in the USA) that SO FAR seem not to be triggering these reactions, in the hope they might lead me to surgeons in my area who use their product. Personally, I'd feel safer with "bio" than plastic, if I had to have mesh at all. Sadly, I have not received a reply from this firm.

I am hoping to be able to continue "watchful waiting" until a better & safer procedure comes along. But who knows...... in the meantime it's up to everyone out there to let as many people -- and the media -- know about this issue. Also, please talk to as many people inthe medical field as possible. Let them know how widespread this is, that it's not just happening to the "freak odd case" here & there.

Where I am, NOBODY knows about it. Not even hernia patients. It never receives any attention whatsoever. I am not in the medical profession and do not subscribe to medical journals, etc. Hernia patients everywhere can only HOPE this is getting some kind of attention there.

Yes....you're probably right.....the doctors don't want to admit the obvious. That implanted mesh is causing the problems, not some "mystery cause". I've seen several websites where doctors flatly deny that mesh rejection can even happen. It's very, very scary.

Tragically, even if the problem hit the headlines tomorrow and the medical profession agreed that yes, mesh procedures had to be replaced, it would take YEARS to train a new generation of surgeons to do it a different way.

For the moment, very few people even know about this. Nobody here in the UK even mentions it. Even most people awaiting hernia surgery don't know about it. Privately, the med's probably do know what's happening. A doctor friend of mine who has been in hospital practice for 40 years and is now retiring advised me recently, "never have mesh implanted. Never." No doubt he's right.

However what do you do if you cannot get to the Shouldice? Everyone can't get to Toronto. In the UK and Europe virtually no surgeons are trained in non-mesh methods any longer. Mesh is the only choice available.

The 1% failure rate refers only to recurrence, which mesh has largely eliminated. Tragically, it doesn't reflect those left in permanent, disabling, often crippling, pain.

You are right about the 38% statistic. Study after study in several countries shows figures in the 30%+ range mentioned for Chronic Pain Syndrome following mesh surgery. What's really scary is how so many of these studies end off by stating "surgeons are trying to find the cause of this chronic pain....." Isn't it obvious?

Meanwhile 99% of hernia surgery worldwide will continue to use mesh. The FDA is in the USA only. It doesn't cover the rest of the world. Even if mesh surgery ended tomorrow in the USA, it would probably continue everywhere else because surgeons & hospitals are only equipped to do mesh procedures. What does someone do who needs surgery buy doesn't want to risk these terrible complications?

Question: if they have to remove the mesh and then do a non-mesh operation, why can't they do that in the first place?

A clinical trial reported in the British Journal of Surgery in 2006 clearly stated that polypropelene, thstudye most commonly used mesh material, can cause potentially harmful side effects including chronic inflammation and decreased abdominal wall compliance.

The med's do know about this. There have been umpteen studies on this in many countries, all showing the same results. It's tragic that they are are trying to deny or downplay such a catastrophic, yet simple, thing. Several docs I've spoken to have also pooh-poohed these dangers, but I'm certain they do know the truth.

None of us are doctors -- but just think of what happens when you get a splinter. The body sets up a painful red swelling around the splinter. This often gets infected as the body tries harder & harder to drive the splinter out (most of us have had this happen at some point).

Isn't this probably the same process with mesh, only there's no place for the mesh to "go", so the pain gets worse & worse? Google the term "meshoma". In some people's bodies, upon removal the mesh is found to be crumpled-up or folded (!).

I don't think the medical people are deliberately trying to hurt us. It may be that until fairly recently, people have not been reporting this to their surgeons, etc, thinking pain is to be expected, or some such thing. Also, mesh hasn't been around for that long in historical terms, and from some of the studies I've seen, it sometimes takes quite a long time for rejection/infection/etc to start happening.

Best thing to do is talk to as many people out there as possible, especially to people in the medical field and especially the media. That's the only way change will ever happen.

Hi GDSM

A doc-friend has advised exactly what you're advising: try to find an older surgeon trained in non-mesh methods. Thanks so much for your reply. In the UK, especially with the NHS (National Health Service) people often tend to question doctors less than they do in the USA. However there have been many articles in British medical journals about this -- I've seen them on the Net. The med's are aware of it, that's definite. The NHS has no profit motive with this (quite the reverse). So no doubt they'd LOVE to have this issue resolved as it's likely there are plenty of mesh removals happening in this country (and across Europe).

Trouble is, once something becomes entrenched, it's very difficult for change to happen. As you correctly say, all the younger surgeons are ONLY trained to do mesh procedures. The medical profession can be extremely conservative as they do tend to stick to "tried & true" methods. It also probably takes years or longer for clinical trials to finally have a practical effect. Also, hernia surgery is not seen as "glamorous" .... so it attracts no media attention.

Meanwhile, on a purely personal level I have contacted my doctor about this issue (he certainly knows my concerns) and am hoping to see him this week. He once told me that having hernia surgery is (quote) "like having a filling.....absolutely nothing". See, this is what we are all up against.

Hmmmmm......that could be easier said than done. Like the rest of us, I am not in the medical field and do not have those sort of contacts. I wish I lived in, or near, Toronto. I agree with you about studies being skewed or biased. However even if it's reasonably accurate, the 1% rate ONLY refers to recurrences, not to Chronic Pain Syndrome or any other complications (mesh infection, etc). When it comes to those things, nearly every study is reporting in the 30%+ range.

Which is why there now tends to be a slooooow drift on the part of some doc's toward advising "watchful waiting". If you read the various studies & reports on "watchful waiting vs surgery" they invariably state that "ww" may be desirable, where possible, because of the prevalence of serious, possibly untreatable surgical complications. They do know about this............

All this, with a surgical procedure so many people think of as "a piece of cake". I get this, litrally, all the time. It's very, very disturbing -- and frightening.

Sorry about the messy last post. Yeah...it was all over the place. Something went wrong when I tried to cut & paste. Anyway, good luck, many thanks, and ENDLESS BLESSINGS to everyone out there who is trying so hard to get the appropriate attention paid to this critical issue. I keep hoping......