Angry vaginal mesh campaigners have blasted the announcement of a new material that could replace the one used in the controversial implant.
Sheffield University scientists today revealed the creation of polyurethane – which they claim is better for women suffering prolapse or incontinence.
But outraged victims who have had the procedure, which is common following childbirth, and have been left crippled by the side effects, warn it is no different to polypropylene, the current plastic material used.
Thousands of women have been left suicidal, unable to have sex or even walk from the current material, which has prompted legal action across the world.
Sling The Mesh, a campaign group calling for a ban, has almost quadrupled in size since the scandal was unearthed last April.
Its founder, Kath Sansom, has relentlessly fought for action, and her tireless fights have led to the announcement of an audit to track those affected.
Sheffield University scientists today revealed the creation of polyurethane – which they claim is better for women suffering prolapse or incontinence
Commenting on the new material, she told MailOnline: ‘Poly means plastic and it is this which is causing such devastation. Plastic can shrink. It is not inert.
‘Plastic does not belong in the body never mind in a woman’s vagina. Women in my group have had allergic reactions, burning and pain [from mesh].’
Ms Sansom, 49, a journalist in Cambridgeshire, added: ‘Everyone keeps saying how incontinence and prolapse are distressing conditions and, yes, they are.
‘But they are not as distressing as women having their lives shattered as the big medical manufacturing giants rub their hands with glee.
‘They have zero care for women’s welfare and are just desperate to make a quick income from flogging dangerous implants with little proof of safety.’
Researchers at Sheffield’s Department of Material Science and Engineering created polyurethane – which they say has a likeness to human tissue.
The new material was found to be softer and more elastic, which they said would be better suited for use in the pelvic floor, with delicate organs close.
In a ‘major breakthrough’, they made the material release oestrogen into surrounding pelvic tissue, which they claim speeds up the healing process.
Researchers at Sheffield’s Department of Material Science and Engineering created polyurethane – which they say has a likeness to human tissue
The hormone stimulates cells to produce new tissue and form new blood vessels – regenerating the tissue.
Their creation was published in the Journal of Neurology and Urodynamics with the hope of developing a material that poses less risk to women.
It will need to go through rigorous clinical trials before it is approved. The material has only been tested on chicken membranes in the laboratory.
Professor Sheila MacNeil, who led the trial, blasted the complication rate for vaginal mesh procedures as ‘frankly unacceptable’.
She said: ‘Surgeons who are experts in this area have concluded that there is a need for a new synthetic material that is better suited for use in the pelvic floor.
‘We started our research because it was clear that the polypropylene mesh was not fit for use in the pelvic floor.’
Professor MacNeil claimed surgeons have been treating incontinence and prolapse using ‘the only synthetic material they had to hand’.
The new material was found to be softer and more elastic, which they said would be better suited for use in the pelvic floor, with delicate organs close
NHS England estimates 100,000 women have undergone the procedure since it was introduced for surgeons to treat incontinence and prolapse in the 1990s.
Health officials last month announced they will launch an audit into vaginal mesh implants to determine how many women have been affected in England.
The true rate of complications is unknown, and the Government has been accused of sweeping issues from vaginal mesh under the carpet.
Chiefs have remained adamant that only three per cent of patients will experience complications of vaginal mesh, which can curl, twist and cut through tissue.
However, an array of trials into mesh – made of brittle plastic – have revealed the true rate of serious side effects is likely to be nearer the 10 per cent figure.
At least 4,800 women have suffered lacerations and nerve damage from the mesh in England, but only 1,000 have reported it to the MHRA.
However, campaigners stress these are just the tip of the iceberg and that actually there are thousands more – but they have been kept silent.
Despite the risks, which have been widely publicised in recent months, most women experience no problem and doctors are adamant the procedure is beneficial.
Sling The Mesh blasted the Government’s ‘weak’ decision back back in December to recommend a ban on vaginal mesh implants for one procedure.
In a ‘major breakthrough’, they made the material release oestrogen into surrounding pelvic tissue, which they claim speeds up the healing process
Nice, which advises the NHS, announced the surgery should only be banned for prolapse – when organs fall out of place, and not incontinence.
It is believed of the women in Sling The Mesh who have been given the controversial implant, three quarters were fitted with the device to treat their incontinence.
The Nice verdict came after the Government released its three-year investigation into the mesh scandal last September. It rejected calls for a ban at the time.
It followed the landmark news from New Zealand that all forms of pelvic mesh would be banned – becoming the first major country to do so.
Officials in the country declared in December they would remove the controversial implants from supply and limit the use of surgical mesh products.
Tiresome fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, has also led to Australian health officials making a similar move for prolapse operations.
Watchdogs in the country banned the use of vaginal mesh implants for prolapse earlier in the same month after a review found benefits ‘do not outweigh the risks’.
The hormone stimulates cells to produce new tissue and form new blood vessels – regenerating the tissue
GRANDFATHER, 65, SLAMS THE CONTROVERSIAL VAGINAL MESH PROCEDURE THAT LEFT HIS BELOVED WIFE SUICIDAL
A 65-year-old grandfather slammed the controversial vaginal mesh procedure that destroyed the life of his beloved wife and left her contemplating suicide.
John Sharman, from Reading, revealed Lynne’s heartbreaking account of the scandal-hit surgery in December.
The father-of-three said it left her in unbearable pain and unable to have sex, following the emergence of hundreds of similar stories.
John Sharman, from Reading, revealed Lynne’s heartbreaking account of the scandal-hit surgery in December
Speaking to MailOnline, he explained her painstaking ordeal from a man’s point-of-view, often forgotten amid the scores of women who have spoken.
Mr Sharman announced he has sometimes thought about leaving Mrs Sharman, who he has been married to for 43 years, due to the effect the mesh has had on their marriage.
Mr Sharman, who met his wife at a chess club, told MailOnline: ‘It does impact your relationship and now I’m more of her carer than I am her lover and a husband.
‘She has been left in constant pain which has totally altered our sex life, social life and the way we operate and what we do.’
Vaginal mesh has been subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing manufacturers of the devices.
The scandal came to light last April, when the NHS tried to dodge media attention over the implants that left hundreds of women in agony.
Senior doctors immediately called for a public inquiry into the controversial mesh, with some claiming the scandal could be akin to thalidomide.
At the time, 800 women were suing the NHS and device manufacturers. However, it is unsure how many women are now looking to take action in Britain.
Mesh, introduced 20 years ago and dubbed ‘gold-standard’, was promoted as a quick, cheap alternative to complex surgery for incontinence and prolapse.
Because it did not require specialist training to implant, victims of the procedure have since begged for tougher regulations to conduct such surgery.
Vaginal mesh has been considered a high-risk device for nearly a decade in the US, with bodies accepting up to 40 per cent of women may experience injury.
Some studies, published in an array of scientific journals, have shown that pain, erosion and perforation from the surgery can strike up to 75 per cent of women.
The alarming evidence prompted officials in three US states to suspend the practice and saw them call for an urgent review into its safety.
Scottish officials asked for it to be suspended in Scotland in 2014 pending a similar review, but hundreds of women are still believed to be having the surgery.
Leading mesh manufacturer Johnson & Johnson was forced to pay out $57 million (£41m) last September to a woman fitted with the implant.
Ella Ebaugh, 51, from Philadelphia, was awarded the eight-figure sum after a jury found the company to be negligent and its product defective.
‘I’VE BEEN ON THE BRINK OF SUICIDE. MY KIDS KEPT ME GOING’
Janette Nelson, 43, was left suicidal after being with a vaginal mesh implant
A mother-of-three has revealed she was on the brink of suicide after suffering agonising pain from a vaginal mesh implant she had fitted.
Janette Nelson, 43, from Newtownards, Northern Ireland, said the only think that kept her going was her children, but she still battles guilt every day as she depends on them to help her wash, dress and even catheterise after the procedure left her unable to control her bladder.
The former hairdresser also blames her implant for the breakdown of her relationship as her boyfriend left her when the pain was too severe for her to have sex.
Unable to work, her career has also been destroyed.
‘My children lost their mummy’
Ms Nelson had the most common type of mesh, known as TVT, fitted in March 2012 in an attempt to cure her urinary stress incontinence.
She said: ‘Immediately once my tape was fitted I woke up with excruciating pain in my groin; its indescribable.’
Just one week later, Ms Nelson wet herself while out with her children and now relies on her eldest daughter to help her catheterise every day.
Due to the excruciating pain of the mesh, Ms Nelson has been forced to rely on her mother and sister to help her raise her children.
Ms Nelson, 43, pictured with her daughters Bryanne (bottom), 17, and Zofie, 12
She said: ‘My children lost their mummy. I’ve been on the brink of suicide.
‘My kids kept me going. I was useless as a mum but I’m still their mum. It’s all been about me for the past few years.’
‘My boyfriend left me because of it’
As well as affecting her as a parent, Ms Nelson also blames the implant for the loss of her love life and career.
She said: ‘I had a boyfriend when this started but the sex was excruciating, neither of us could cope with it. My boyfriend left me because of it.
‘I used to work as a hairdresser; always on my feet, always very confident, but now I can hardly walk and I can’t control my bladder so I can’t work. It’s really knocked my confidence.’