Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Corporation was hit with yet another transvaginal mesh lawsuit filed by a woman who suffered from injuries caused by the Solyx Incision Sling System transvaginal mesh (TVM) device used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
The case was filed in the United District Court of Arkansas Eastern District. To date, there have been over 60 thousand different transvaginal mesh lawsuits that were combined into multidistrict litigation, or MDLs.
These complaints have been filed by women and the families of these women against the makers of these devices.
Details About the Case
The plaintiff who filed the case is represented by Ben C. Martin and Laura Baughman of Martin Baughman, PLLC and Greg Vigna, MD, JD.
Dr. Greg Vigna, practicing physician, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, and certified life care planner states, “There is no reliable evidence that these single incision mini-slings prevent chronic leg and chronic groin pain when compared with full-length transobturator slings.”
“Clearly, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England (NICE) supports this position, as well as their position, “do not use… single-incision sub-urethral short mesh sling insertion except as part of a clinical trial,” he added.
According to Dr. Vigna, many of the women they represent all have the same symptoms of neurological injury due to transvaginal mesh devices.
However, these risks have all described as ‘extrapelvic pain’ in the 2020 Joint Position Statement on the Management of Mesh-Related Complications for the FPMRS Specialist.
Nerve Injury Due to Transvaginal Mesh
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a major public health problem. This condition affects 20% of women and impairs quality of life.
Because of their known safety, efficacy, and ease of application, transvaginal mid-urethral slings have become the go-to surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence in women.
However, the use of these devices is linked to a wide array of complications. These complications can also negatively affect a patient’s quality of life. One of the possible risks that may be fatal is nerve injury due to these transvaginal mesh devices.
Particularly, obturator nerve injury is one adverse effect of transvaginal midurethral sling operation.
Some symptoms of neurological injury to the obturator nerve from transobturator slings include:
- Groin pain
- Hip pain
- Inability to wear tight pants
- Clitoral numbness or pain
- Severe pain that makes vaginal penetration impossible
- Anorectal pain
- Tailbone pain
- Painful bladder
- Pain when seated
- Limitation in motor functions
Needless to say, these symptoms can adversely affect a patient’s quality of life. This is why early diagnosis of the problem is important. Early treatment also increases the chance of completely normalizing the affected functions in a patient.
What You Can Do
As of 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received 69,000 reports of adverse events related to transvaginal mesh devices used for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair.
A survey of 2,220 women who received pelvic mesh devices to treat their stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse seems to back these reports up.
In the said survey, 59% of the women said that the transvaginal mesh surgery didn’t resolve the health problem for which they got the implant. The other 58% said they were left with the complication of pain during intercourse.
To date, thousands of women have already filed a transvaginal mesh lawsuit against the makers of these potentially faulty medical devices. Some of the most commonly reported complications in recently filed complaints include, mesh erosion, organ perforation, corrective surgery, and even nerve damage.
If you recently received a transvaginal mesh device and are experiencing any of these problems, know that you are not alone.
You have an option to fight for your rights by filing a transvaginal mesh lawsuit. Contact us today if you wish to know more about your legal options. Rest assured that we will help you in seeking justice and in finding the right transvaginal mesh lawyer for you.
