19 February 2019
Wayne Walker, Solicitor in our Clinical Negligence Department, is acting for a client who has had a disastrous outcome to the use of vaginal mesh (known as TVT, TVT-O or TOT).
The TVT mesh is often prescribed to women who experience incontinence after childbirth and involves inserting a plastic mesh into the vagina to support the bladder While the operation can be a success, it has left some women in chronic pain, unable to walk, work or have sexual intercourse.
The mesh itself is usually made out of synthetic polypropylene and used to treat incontinence or prolapse, conditions that have often, but not always, been caused by childbirth.
Wayne remarks
“My Claimant had a hysterectomy in 2010. She had the TVT put in place to hold by abdomen in place to stop the bladder and bowel from dropping.
Since having the hysterectomy done, she had been in constant pain, unable to do day-to-day tasks and she has had difficulty with her toileting.
The Claimant attended her GP and indicated that she had read that the TVT may have eroded and, after a variety of tests, it was confirmed that this was the case.
She had a number of consultations and had an operation to remove the TVT. She was informed that the mesh was not designed to be removed but it had to be removed.
The operation took 5 hours and only part of the TVT was removed. She has had to have various consultations and it a further operation is to be undertaken to remove the remaining mesh which, in itself, comes with risks”.
Between 2006 and 2016, more than 92,000 women in England were treated with a polypropylene surgical material that is either inserted as a mesh patch or a vaginal tape, known as TVT, TVTO and TOT. More can be read about this here:
http://news.sky.com/story/legal-action-launched-for-vaginal-mesh-sufferers-10952224
The government have recently accepted that there are debilitating effects of implants, whether knee, hip or even mesh implants. More can be read here : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/13/government-accepts-debilitating-effects-of-medical-implants
“It is fair to say that, perhaps in the past, regulation has focused excessively on what is in the commercial interests of businesses to maintain competition, rather than having patient safety at its heart,” Jackie Doyle-Price, Health and social Care Minister told a parliamentary debate on Tuesday evening. “It has not always been easy for patients to investigate and find more data about the things being put in their bodies.”
The debate, secured by Owen Smith, the Labour MP for Pontypridd said that problems included the failure to conduct clinical trials on a remarkable proportion of devices on the market, manufacturers being in charge of testing their own products after faults developed, and manufacturers being allowed to shop around for approval to market their products without having to declare any refusals.
Doyle-Price had previously said the benefits of vaginal mesh surgery outweighed the risks and had rejected calls for an inquiry. She now says, of vaginal mesh, which can now only be used in highly restricted circumstances, that too many women had been given the surgery and she urged those who had had problems to pursue medical negligence claims against doctors.
If you, or any of your family have been effected by a similar story please contact Williamsons Solicitors, on 01482 323697, for free advice.
