Russian roulette with mesh
Surgical mesh procedures have left hundreds of Kiwi women suffering lifealtering pain and disability. Some mesh products were banned last year but last week a new Government proposal put the spotlight on surgeons, with their competency in the firing line.
Auckland woman Sam Bennett didn’t question the credentials of her surgeon when she went into hospital for a hysterectomy and transvaginal mesh (TVM) implant procedure in 2013.
Doctors told the mother of two they could fix her urinary incontinence problems with a vaginal sling. She had never heard of mesh and believed it to be a routine procedure.
She met her surgeon on the day. Minutes before she went under, the surgeon asked if she had been told about potential complications from the bladder sling.
‘‘I said no. And that was the end of the conversation.’’
So she didn’t hear about the risks of mesh erosion, infection, and chronic, life-changing pain. In the months following the procedure, Bennett said she felt a ‘‘heavy, period-like pain’’ but ignored it. But by early 2017 the pain had become excruciating and at a routine cervical cancer screen, her GP discovered the polypropylene mesh had eroded and was poking through into her vaginal canal. ‘‘It was excruciating. I’d just have to curl up in bed and take pain killers.’’ She was forced to abandon her realestate job and career.
‘‘I’d been doing that for 10 years and absolutely adored it but because of the pain I gave it up.’’
Bennett was referred to a surgeon who prescribed cream to fix the problem. When it didn’t work she was sent for another test and a hospital staffer told her about a surgeon who could remove the mesh. The surgery in March rid her of the pain but also left her incontinent. ‘‘Unfortunately my bladder gave up the ghost completely and so