Hernias are an extremely common medical condition. Anyone can develop a hernia, including men, women, and children.
Over the years, hernia mesh or surgical mesh has been used to treat the majority of hernias. Lately, however, an increasing number of people who have had hernia repairs using mesh have reported complications following their surgery.
Some of these symptoms have even pushed the victims to file hernia mesh lawsuits.
It is important to know what particular symptoms to look out for. This way, you can avoid being a victim of further complications and procedures due to this potentially defective medical device.
And if you are here for that purpose, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will help you answer the question, “How to know if hernia mesh ripped?”
Hernia Repair
A hernia occurs when a tissue or organ pushes through a weak place in the surrounding tissue or muscle wall of your abdomen.
Anything that puts increased pressure on the abdomen can cause a hernia. This can include obesity, lifting heavy objects, constipation, diarrhea, or constant coughing or sneezing.
Hernias can also result from weak muscles. In most cases, it is a combination of pressure and weak muscles that causes the condition.
One common but major surgery used to treat hernia is hernia repair. This procedure returns the organ to its appropriate place and fixes the weakened area of tissue.
However, hernia repairs can also come with significant risks and a myriad of complications.
There are many different types of hernias, depending on the affected part of your body. But here are some of the most common ones:
Umbilical Hernia
Umbilical hernias develop near or at your belly button. An umbilical hernia occurs when a part of your small intestine bulges through a weak spot in your abdominal muscles. This type of hernia commonly affects infants, but it can also occur in women after they have had many children.
Inguinal Hernia
Possibly the most common type of hernia, inguinal hernia generally affects men. Inguinal hernias occur when tissue or organs protrude through a weak spot in the abdominal wall and into the groin.
Hiatal Hernia
Hiatal hernias form when your stomach bulges through an opening in your diaphragm called the hiatus.
Hernia bulges can grow as large as a basketball. Changes in one’s quality of life, chronic pain, and personal insecurities often result in people opting for a hernia repair.
Can You Feel The Mesh After Hernia Repair?
Many patients have expressed their concerns about whether they would feel the mesh after a hernia repair surgery.
In a traditional hernia mesh surgery, the hernia mesh is placed outside the abdominal wall, closer to the body’s surface. This is why many patients complain that they can feel the medical device after the surgery.
This is mainly because the nerves around the abdominal area can get entrapped in the mesh on the surgical site, causing chronic pain and leading patients to feel the hernia mesh following a surgery.
However, hernias usually do not get better on their own, and the only way to repair a hernia is through surgery. Surgical hernia repairs often use synthetic mesh. The surgery involves pushing the bulge back into the body part that should contain it.
Can A Hernia Break Through The Mesh?
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced several hernia mesh implant recalls and started warning the public about the medical device. Reasons behind the recalls ranged from poor performance to packaging mistakes to adverse reactions reported from the use of the medical devices.
For instance, C.R. Bard’s hernia mesh patches were one of the first hernia mesh implants to be recalled. The implants were made of polypropylene with a ring around the mesh.
In some cases, however, this ring would break apart and then begin to shrink. The polypropylene component of the device would shrink to a size smaller than the ring, causing it to break and perforate other organs.
But aside from C.R. Bard, the FDA also called out several other companies for their potentially defective hernia mesh implants.
Ethicon Inc. was also targeted by the agency for the potential danger of the medical device losing its laminate coating, and Atrium Medical Corporation for improper packaging of its hernia mesh implants.
These recalls gave rise to several hernia mesh lawsuits filed by plaintiffs involving complications from defective hernia mesh implants.
If you have also suffered from a wide array of hernia mesh complications after having surgery, you can start a hernia mesh lawsuit today by contacting us, and we will help you find the right attorney.
Why Does My Hernia Mesh Hurt?
At times, the mesh used in hernia repair surgery can cause irritation or inflammation leading to pain, which is one of the most common complications following a hernia repair surgery using mesh.
But in some cases, the hernia mesh can cause an inflammatory response that could cause people to suffer from chronic, long-term pain that can last from three to six months up to years after the hernia mesh surgery.
The use of hernia mesh has been considered the most common form of treatment that every year, more than 100,000 hernia mesh devices are implanted in the United States alone.
However, an increase in the use of hernia mesh implants has also led to rising numbers of hernia mesh complications.
Studies have found that these medical devices are linked to a high failure rate, which led to thousands of plaintiffs filing lawsuits to seek justice for the complications they have suffered due to hernia mesh failure.
Hernia Mesh Failure
Hernia mesh failure is a serious complication following a mesh hernia repair surgery. In some cases, determining a hernia mesh failure can be difficult.
How to know if hernia mesh ripped?
Many patients can’t even be a hundred percent sure of the signs.
Some unsuspecting patients even fail to recognize that the symptoms are linked to hernia mesh failure, especially if the hernia mesh surgery was done years ago. In some cases, when the hernia mesh rips or fails, it can lead to hernia mesh migration, which can cause more damage and additional surgeries.
A patient may have to undergo surgical removal of the mesh to treat the injuries sustained from a torn or ripped mesh and to avoid any further injuries or damages.
Signs of a Ripped Hernia Mesh Implant
At first, a hernia mesh device may not show signs of problems. However, it’s possible for patients to only begin experiencing symptoms that indicate a ripped hernia mesh implant several years after surgery.
What’s worse?
Symptoms of a ripped hernia mesh device may mimic the symptoms of mesh failure. Some indicators of a ripped mesh may include the following:
- Fever or other flu-like symptoms
- The surgical area feels warm, sore, or tender
- Abdominal pain
- Inability to pass stool and bloating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Poor healing of the wound
- Fluid building up around the area of the hernia mesh
Hernia Mesh Complications
Serious complications can result from a surgical mesh that remains in the body after the onset of some side effects. Aside from severe pain, this factor could also be the reason for the signs and symptoms of hernia mesh rejection mentioned above.
Complications from hernia mesh may also be difficult to identify.
The following are the most common hernia mesh complications:
Chronic Pain and Discomfort
People who undergo hernia repair surgery have excessive pain and discomfort as the most common sign of hernia mesh complications.
Depending on the kind of hernia and the surgical site, pain may occur near the abdomen, groin, testicle, and leg.
In some patients, pain and discomfort may be the only sign of a hernia mesh complication. But this could also lead to chronic, long-term pain that lasts from three to six months up to several years.
Mesh Adhesion
According to the FDA, adhesions can be described as “scar tissue that sticks tissues together.”
Oftentimes, a patient can only tell the existence of a mesh adhesion through chronic and usually severe pain. This complication could lead to potentially life-threatening bowel obstructions.
Bowel Obstruction due to Hernia Mesh
A hernia mesh also causes bowel obstruction. Bowel obstruction is a blockage in the small or the large intestine. If the medical device moves, it can cause difficulty in passing a stool or gas, if not completely impossible.
Bowel obstruction is a potentially dangerous medical condition that needs immediate treatment.
In some severe cases, bowel removal might be needed.
Hernia Recurrence
Another one of the most common hernia mesh complications is hernias coming back, also called hernia recurrence.
According to a study, hernia recurrence is less likely when a repair surgery uses mesh, but it can still happen. Other hernia mesh complications such as adhesion, bowel perforation, and mesh migration, could potentially lead to hernia recurrence.
Infection
Hernia mesh complications can also come in the form of infections.
Some are minor infections around the incision site that could be treated with antibiotics. However, some are deep, chronic infections that can cause patients to notice redness and feel warm in the area of hernia surgery.
Mesh Migration
In case the surgical mesh moves or detaches after surgery, it can potentially migrate through the abdomen.
Mesh migration can lead to fistulas, adhesions, and bowel obstruction or perforation, and chronic pain.
How Can I Report Hernia Mesh Complications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?
One way to make the agency aware of adverse events or complications is by filing a hernia mesh lawsuit against the manufacturer of the allegedly defective device.
Once a manufacturer receives a complaint, they have the responsibility of reporting the lawsuit to the FDA.
And more lawsuits filed mean more chances of the agency having a second or third look at the medical device and the complications reported against it.
If a defective hernia mesh implant failed three years after surgery and the same surgeon who implanted the mesh also removed it, the surgeon must report the injury to the device’s manufacturer.
And if these surgeons continue filing reports of serious complications to companies, the manufacturers have a legal obligation to inform the FDA about the situation.
If you or your loved one suffered from injuries due to hernia mesh implants, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact us today and we can assist you with the legal steps necessary in fighting for your rights.
