Have you been injured by a transvaginal mesh product? You're far from alone. Tens of thousands of women have experienced injuries from these products over the past decade. Many of these injuries are permanent and affect the quality of life of both the woman and her spouse. There is a reason you see all of those television commercials encouraging you to hire a personal injury attorney for transvaginal mesh injuries. Surgical mesh was approved for vaginal use by the FDA in 2002, without any long-term studies on its safety being done. Time has proven this was a big mistake on the part of the FDA.

What Is Transvaginal Mesh?

Transvaginal mesh is merely surgical mesh that has been inserted into the vaginal canal. It is used to give stability to the surrounding tissues in cases of prolapse of the bladder, rectum, or uterus, when those organs start to descend through the vagina. Surgical mesh is made by nearly a dozen different manufacturers under various different product names, and has been safely used in the abdominal wall to repair hernias since the 1950's.

It eventually was seen as an easier alternative to repairing prolapse than the traditional suture method. However, its use in the vagina began to be problematic soon after the FDA granted approval for its use in prolapse cases in 2002.

What Are Some Injuries Transvaginal Mesh Can Cause?

Pain and bleeding are the most common transvaginal mesh injuries. According to Injury-Law.FreeAdvice.com, the mesh can also perforate the vaginal wall and embed itself in the organs on the other side of it. This can lead to permanent scarring, the inability to have sex or go to the bathroom without pain, and even difficulty sitting or walking comfortably.

Transvaginal mesh is also extremely difficult to remove, due to the soft and sensitive nature of the tissues in the vaginal canal. Pieces of it are often left behind when removal surgeries are done. Permanent damage to the tissues is also common.

Why Does Transvaginal Mesh Cause These Injuries?

The vagina has a lot of natural flora in it in the form of various bacterias. This makes it an inherently unsanitary area for doing implantation surgery, such as with the mesh products. Because of this, infections are easily formed, and they are the culprits behind all of the injuries. Even when the mesh migrates through the vaginal wall and into other organs, it is because the initial wound from the implantation of the mesh has become infected and softened the tissues too much for them to support the mesh.

Are Lawsuits Regarding Mesh-Related Injuries Easy to Win?

There is a high win rate for plaintiffs in these lawsuits. There have been over 68,000 lawsuits over mesh-related injuries since 2005. Most of them have been settled out of court based on the amounts juries are likely to have awarded the plaintiffs.

Some lawsuits have gone to trial, and many large, multi-million dollar awards have been handed out, usually because the court finds fault with the mesh manufacturers for failing to inform patients of the risks involved with getting the vaginal mesh implants.

Plenty of smaller awards have also been handed out in mesh-related lawsuits. It all depends on the extent of the injury, whether or not it can be fixed, and how it affects the plaintiff's quality of life going forward.

Some spouses have even been awarded money for the loss of sexual relationships with their wives after mesh injuries. Lawsuits are ongoing and new ones are filed nearly every day, because surgical mesh is continuing to be used transvaginally.

Conclusion

Don't let the negligence of the FDA and mesh manufacturers ruin your life. You deserve compensation if you've been injured by transvaginal mesh surgery. Contact a personal injury lawyer from a firm like Hardee and Hardee LLP to discuss your case. Then, file your lawsuit to get the justice and compensation you deserve.