Hernia mesh complications affect up to 170,000 people in England

Up to 170,000 people who have had hernia mesh implants in England over the past six years could be battling agonising complications.

Between 12 and 30 per cent of the 570,000 people who have had the procedure have been left in such severe pain they are unable to walk or work.

Experts said on the BBC’s flagship Victoria Derbyshire show that some patients of the common procedure have even been left suicidal.

This follows the vaginal mesh scandal, which has left thousands of women around the world unable to have sex and dependent on wheelchairs to get about. 

Tireless fights by campaigners were rewarded earlier this year, when officials declared a temporary ban on the brittle material being used to treat incontinence.

However, regulatory body the MHRA continues to back the use of hernia mesh – despite the high complication rates.  

Thousands of women have been left on the brink of suicide, unable to work and reliant on wheelchairs due to the controversial implants (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside the Houses of Parliament). The device is used for prolapse, incontinence and hernias

One in 10 people will develop a hernia, with the most common treatment being a doctor pushing the bulging tissue back into the body and covering it with surgical mesh.

Up to 100,000 of these operations have taken place every year in England since 2011-to-2012.

Leading surgeons have warned the 12-to-30 per cent complication rate may mean between 68,000 and 170,000 patients have been left with life-changing side effects in the past six years.

But the number may be much higher due to mesh being used for hernia operations since the 1990s. 

NHS trusts in England have no consistent guidelines on how best to treat hernia patients. 

But the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) backs the use of mesh.

THE MAN LEFT IN AGONY AFTER BEING GIVEN A SURGICAL MESH IMPLANT TO REPAIR A HERNIA   

Mario Spacagna is eternally grateful for the surgery that removed his kidney tumour. 

But he fears he will pay the costs of his survival for the rest of his life as a result of a secondary operation following the cancer surgery.

‘I am in constant pain, day and night,’ explains the 75-year-old from Southampton. 

‘I can be walking down the street and my legs will suddenly fold up under me. I can’t breathe and I can’t speak.

‘Sometimes it is a general ache and other times it is a sharp stabbing sensation like having a knife stuck in my side. Anyone who saw me would think I was having a heart attack.’

Mr Spacagna has had a large, 10-inch square sheet of plastic surgical mesh placed internally.

This was done to repair the damage caused by the partial removal, in October 2013, of one of his kidneys, which was affected by a large cancerous tumour.

‘I was left with a bulge in my side where the kidney surgery had left a gap in the muscles holding everything together,’ he says. 

‘It was about half the size of a football after the operation. A small mesh was put in to hold everything in place. 

‘It didn’t work so in October 2015 they went back. They couldn’t take out the original mesh so they put another huge piece of mesh over the top. It didn’t work either.’

Quite apart from the ongoing pain, he says he still has ‘this huge bulge — clothes don’t fit me properly and I’m very self-conscious about it’.

Labour MP Owen Smith, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Surgical Mesh Implants, argues the MHRA’s job is to ensure medical devices are safe. 

He adds the agency is not listening to the experiences of affected patients.

‘Companies ultimately have to take some responsibility for this.

‘It’s not good for them to give this to the NHS and then they walk away with the NHS carrying any liability,’ he said on the Victoria Derbyshire show.

The MHRA argues there is insufficient evidence to discontinue the use mesh for hernias. The Royal College of Surgeons agrees the device is the ‘most effective way’ to treat the condition.

But the private hernia surgeon Dr Ulrike Muschaweck is urging for medics to use the suture technique rather than mesh. This involves using strips of surgical adhesive tape to close wounds.

Unfortunately, the technique is rarely taught to young surgeons, she adds.

Dr Muschaweck claims she has removed 3,000 meshes due to patients suffering chronic pain, of which only went on to be free of any discomfort.

Consultant urogynaecologist Dr Suzy Elneil, who was a fierce campaigner in the bid to ban vaginal mesh on the NHS in England, estimates treating a patient with hernia mesh complications comes to at least £25,000.

This is due to the costs associated with removing the mesh, a further operation to treat the hernia and follow-up care.  

Kath Sansom, founder of the 6,300-strong Sling The Mesh group, has previously attacked private doctors after data suggests they can earn up to £1250,000 if they fit four women with a mesh implant each week. She believes they put their 'flashy lifestyles' before patient safety

Kath Sansom, founder of the 6,300-strong Sling The Mesh group, has previously attacked private doctors after data suggests they can earn up to £1250,000 if they fit four women with a mesh implant each week. She believes they put their ‘flashy lifestyles’ before patient safety

The vaginal mesh scandal came to light in April 2017, when the NHS tried to dodge media attention over the implants that left hundreds of women in agony. 

Vaginal mesh has been the subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing the manufacturers of the devices.

This comes after hundreds of private surgeons were accused of being ‘cash-hungry’ by pushing women to undergo barbaric vaginal mesh surgery.

Campaigners unearthed data last July that revealed urogynaecologists can ‘double their salaries’ by offering the controversial procedure in their own clinics.

Calculations by the prominent group Sling The Mesh show surgeons can earn an extra £125,000 by giving four women mesh each week privately. 

Vaginal mesh, made of brittle plastic that can curl, twist and cut through tissue, has been branded the 'biggest medical scandal' since thalidomide

Vaginal mesh, made of brittle plastic that can curl, twist and cut through tissue, has been branded the ‘biggest medical scandal’ since thalidomide

Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, were rewarded last July, when officials declared a temporary ban on mesh being used to treat incontinence (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside the House of Commons following a debate earlier this year)

Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, were rewarded last July, when officials declared a temporary ban on mesh being used to treat incontinence (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside the House of Commons following a debate earlier this year)

WHAT ARE VAGINAL MESH IMPLANTS? THE CONTROVERSIAL DEVICES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THALIDOMIDE

WHAT ARE VAGINAL MESH IMPLANTS? 

Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women.

Usually made from synthetic polypropylene, a type of plastic, the implants are intended to repair damaged or weakened tissue in the vagina wall.

Other fabrics include polyester, human tissue and absorbable synthetic materials.

Some women report severe and constant abdominal and vaginal pain after the surgery. In some, the pain is so severe they are unable to have sex.

Infections, bleeding and even organ erosion has also been reported.

Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women

Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MESH? 

Mini-sling: This implant is embedded with a metallic inserter. It sits close to the mid-section of a woman’s urethra. The use of an inserter is thought to lower the risk of cutting during the procedure.

TVT sling: Such a sling is held in place by the patient’s body. It is inserted with a plastic tape by cutting the vagina and making two incisions in the abdomen. The mesh sits beneath the urethra.

TVTO sling: Inserted through the groin and sits under the urethra. This sling was intended to prevent bladder perforation.

TOT sling: Involves forming a ‘hammock’ of fibrous tissue in the urethra. Surgeons often claim this form of implant gives them the most control during implantation.

Kath Samson, a journalist, is the founder of Sling The Mesh

Kath Samson, a journalist, is the founder of Sling The Mesh

Ventral mesh rectopexy: Releases the rectum from the back of the vagina or bladder. A mesh is then fitted to the back of the rectum to prevent prolapse.

HOW MANY WOMEN SUFFER?  

According to the NHS and MHRA, the risk of vaginal mesh pain after an implant is between one and three per cent.

But a study by Case Western Reserve University found that up to 42 per cent of patients experience complications.

Of which, 77 per cent report severe pain and 30 per cent claim to have a lost or reduced sex life.

Urinary infections have been reported in around 22 per cent of cases, while bladder perforation occurs in up to 31 per cent of incidences.

Critics of the implants say trials confirming their supposed safety have been small or conducted in animals, who are unable to describe pain or a loss of sex life. 

Kath Samson, founder of the Sling The Mesh campaign, said surgeons often refuse to accept vaginal mesh implants are causing pain.

She warned that they are not obligated to report such complications anyway, and as a result, less than 40 per cent of surgeons do.   

Vaginal mesh has been subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing the manufacturers of the devices (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside Parliament earlier this year)

Vaginal mesh has been subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing the manufacturers of the devices (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside Parliament earlier this year)

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