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An Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review on vaginal mesh procedures that reportedly compromised the lives of women and babies has revealed the procedures to be highly detrimental to patients.
The IMMDS Review collected two years’ worth of data from women who received vaginal mesh and other pelvic mesh implants. The review, managed by Baroness Julia Cumberlege and published 8 July 2020, examined data from women who received the implants, typically to treat stress urinary incontinence that occurs after childbirth.
After receiving vaginal mesh implants, an abundance of women began to develop chronic pain, nerve damage, bowel issues, recurring infections, mobility problems and other ailments, according to NewScientist.
The problem occurs when the vaginal mesh becomes embedded in surrounding tissues, causing difficulties when removing it. It is uncertain whether the vaginal mesh can morph in shape or size after implantation, according to the IMMDS Review.
The review also found that it is unclear whether chemicals from the vaginal mesh can generate immune conditions, which have been experienced and reported by some women.
The IMMDS Review describes how many women have not been informed about the risks of the implantation procedure, and victims chronicle how their symptoms and complaints have been disregarded by doctors as typical results of childbirth or menopause.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), vaginal mesh surgery should only be used as a “last resort” to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence.
Thousands of women who have had vaginal mesh implants have joined support and campaign groups, although the number of women affected by vaginal mesh complications is not specifically known.
Jemima Williams, founder of the Welsh Mesh Survivors support group, was included in the IMMDS Review, according to the BBC.
Williams says she was left in excruciating pain after having vaginal mesh implants.
“I never sleep …,” Williams told the BBC. “I wake up in excruciating pain, which is burning, rectal pain, vaginal pain.”
A group of 700 women and their families shared “harrowing” details about the complications they believe have been a result of the vaginal mesh procedure. Vaginal mesh cases have been problematic for decades and are thought to have affected hundreds of thousands of women and babies.
The IMMDS Review claims that complaints and anguish women discuss with their doctors are commonly brushed off as “women’s problems,” leaving victims traumatised, intimidated and confused.
The report urges the U.K. government to apologise to victims and to set up specialist centres for those affected by complications due to vaginal mesh implants.
“I have conducted many reviews and inquiries over the years, but I have never encountered anything like this; the intensity of suffering experienced by so many families, and the fact that they have endured it for decades,” Cumberledge said. “Much of this suffering was entirely avoidable, caused and compounded by failings in the health system itself.”
The review examined three treatments:
- Primodos — a hormonal pregnancy test, taken off the market in 1978 due to the belief that the test was associated with birth defects and miscarriages. The manufacturer, Schering, now part of Bayer, never admitted to a connection between the drug and birth defects.
- Sodium valproate — an epilepsy drug that can be dangerous if taken during pregnancy. It may cause physical abnormalities to fetuses, developmental delay and autism in children whose mothers were prescribed the drug.
- Pelvic mesh implants — the surgical option to treat prolapse and incontinence. The procedure has potentially caused internal damage and chronic pain that some women have described “like razors inside the body.”
According to the report, women that have been affected are due an apology from the U.K. government. The writers of the report also ask for the establishment of specialist centres that offer medical and social support for people who have been affected by issues stemming from vaginal mesh procedures. And lastly, the report recommends that those affected should also be offered financial redress and support for their struggles.
“While the NHS is a beacon of brilliant care and safety in the majority of cases, as this report demonstrates we must do better,” health minister Nadine Dorries said in a statement. “Our health system must learn from those it has failed, ensure those who have felt unheard have a voice, and ultimately, that patients are better protected in the future.”
Do you think the information spotlighted by the IMMDS Review will bring forth more victims of vaginal mesh surgeries? Do you think the U.K. government will supply the victims with support and specialist centres? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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