Stress Urinary Incontinence is the most common type affecting women and occurs when the muscles around the pelvis and sphincter are weakened or stretched. SUI often affects women who have had multiple pregnancies with vaginal childbirths or have had a hysterectomy.
Although there are a number of treatment options for Stress Urinary Incontinence, recent reports suggest the use of vaginal mesh implants should be avoided.
While many have seen commercials advising of vaginal mesh implant side effects most people don’t know that the FDA has issued two warnings about these devices and several studies have identified serious post-surgical complications.
After an FDA warning this year about the safety risks of using transvaginal mesh devices to repair pelvic organ prolapse, many people are trying to find out whether the mesh implant they received is included in the warning and what legal rights they have for their injuries.
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a condition in which organs like the urethra or bladder fall into the pelvic cavity due to stretched or weakened pelvic muscles. The condition affects nearly 1 out of every 10 women in the United States after childbirth, a hysterectomy or menopause.
The FDA recently warned that the transvaginal implant of surgical mesh devices to repair conditions like pelvic organ prolapse could cause severe side effects like vaginal mesh infection. These injuries could affect hundreds of thousands of women who underwent the procedure.
Much attention has been given to the legal rights of those who experienced side effects after receiving a transvaginal mesh implant to pursue legal action for their side effects. However, the same legal help is also available to those who are having complications after undergoing a bladder sling procedure.
Following a recent FDA warning, hundreds of thousands of women who underwent vaginal mesh implant surgeries to repair pelvic organ prolapse could face complications like mesh erosion.
Approximately one in ten women will experience conditions like pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence after childbirth, in which weakened or stretched pelvic muscles allow the bladder, urethra, intestines or other organs to drop into the pelvic cavity.
A judge has set the first trials in the much-publicized transvaginal mesh litigation for late next year. The trials are scheduled to take place before a jury in New Jersey Superior Court.
Judge Carol E. Higbee is presiding over more than 350 cases filed against Ethicon Gynecare, which were centralized in her district to allow for easier preparation and trial by the parties.
Representatives from several manufacturers of controversial transvaginal mesh surgical devices told FDA officials at a panel meeting last month that they agreed further testing of the devices and label warnings may be warranted.
The concessions followed an FDA warning on July 13, 2011 that use of the devices in pelvic organ prolapse surgeries could cause more side effects than other surgical methods.