LESLEY’S STORY
The pain made my body shut down. I was in a wheelchair
A mum has had to spend thousands getting hernia mesh removed in London after being warned surgery in Scotland could leave her with major nerve damage.
Lesley Hughes, 54, from Edinburgh, feared she would end up crippled in a wheelchair after a “routine” hernia repair to her groin a year ago.
The Edinburgh City Council worker said: “Within a few weeks of getting hernia mesh, was in so much pain and became so ill there were times when my body shut down and I had to use a wheelchair. “I couldn’t understand what was wrong with me because I’d been assured there was only a slight risk of pain afterwards, and the operation itself had appeared to have gone well. “But as the weeks went on, and I kept trying to get back to work and having to take time off again, I realised something was seriously wrong.
“I was in terrible pain, I felt the time, I was totally exhausted, and at one stage I simply couldn’t move.” Lesley went to see a top Scottish hernia surgeon and was told that the mesh could be removed but she could face major nerve damage as a result. Not only that, she would have to wait till at least next year for any NHS help as no appointments were available.
The mum of two did her own research and finally found a surgeon in London who could remove all of the mesh
Iill all without the same risk of nerve damage.
After talks with her family, Lesley decided to raise the £7,500 for the operation.
She said: “I couldn’t take the risk of having to wait. After the surgery, I was assured removal had gone very well and I’d escaped nerve damage which was a huge relief compared to the prognosis I had been offered in Scotland. “Almost a month down the line and I feel I’ve had the ‘monster’ removed from my body.”
Lesley is backing the call to suspend hernia mesh use. She said: “I’ve had a lucky escape, but what about the others who haven’t?”