Most of those who are afflicted with stress urinary incontinence
(SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) are women. According to health
experts, around 200,000 American patients needed surgical operation for
prolapse yearly, while around 34 million suffered from stress urinary
incontinence based on the report by the National Association For
Continence (NAFC). Medical interventions for these ailments vary from
the invasive and non-invasive type. Transvaginal placement of mesh has
become increasingly popular recently.
Transvaginal mesh existed for 20 years now, intended to entirely
manage pelvic organ prolapse ailments which usually plague women after
giving birth, menopause, or hysterectomy.You may develop pelvic organ
prolapse when the tissues supporting your pelvic organs come to be
fragile and struggling.It is said that around thirty to fifty percent of
women may suffer from POP conditions throughout their existence and
only two percent may be symptomatic.A sign of stress urinary
incontinence is when there is seepage of urine upon doing involuntary
things such as coughing or sneezing, or laughing and exercising as it
puts pressure in the abdomen.
One way to treat these diseases is transvaginal mesh surgery. It is
designed like a hammock made out of synthetic material which is
surgically implanted through the vagina, in order to support the
prolapsed organs. With the sling system, it helps the urethra to be firm
in its place.With the sling in place, normal urinary function may be
restored. The tightness of the mesh is regulated to lessen outflow of
urine. As it was projected to help organs to stay in place, the device
however, produced unwanted effects to its patients.
Within the last three years, the Food and Drug administration (FDA)
has over 1,000 side-effect reports about mesh used in transvaginal
surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary
incontinence. What you may see on the reports are side effects such as
mesh erosion, pain, infection, and incontinence.In some rare cases,
there are reports about destruction to one’s bladder, bowel, or blood
vessel.Most of the patients described in the adverse event reports
needed medical or surgical intervention, and some required
hospitalization.
Furthermore, a vaginal mesh implant known as Ethicon is a good
example for this as several lawsuits have been filed against it due to
its side effects. A recipient said that the pain was unbearable that it
took her 18 surgical operations to pull out the vaginal surgical
mesh.The panel sided with her claim that Johnson & Johnson was not
able to caution its users of the threats linked with their device.
If you are experiencing some of its adverse effects, have yourself checked instantly by a medical provider.
Sources:
webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/tc/pelvic-organ-prolapse-topic-overview
usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2011/05/11/vaginal-mesh-surgery-effective-for-bladder-prolapse-repair-report
