Many research studies have focused on the physical complications related to transvaginal mesh (TVM). These studies, and numerous FDA alerts, confirm women’s reports of:

• Pain
• Infection
• Difficulty urinating
• Problems having a bowel movement
• Recurrence of pelvic organ prolapse
• Difficulty sitting
• Inability to have sexual intercourse

These are just a few of the known physical complications of mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.

It is only now, years after the first reports of TVM complications, that studies are taking a closer look at the psychological, emotional and social effects TVM complications cause.

Emerging Research

In a study titled “Changed Women: The Long Term Impact of Vaginal Mesh Complications” researchers spoke with a total of 84 women who presented with complications from vaginal mesh. These interviews resulted in 3 categories of findings: “cascading health problems”; “settling for a new normal”; and “returning to health”.

Women reported feelings, of desperation, hopelessness, changed body image, and anxiety. When discharged from care with an expectation of “returning to health” women reported feeling abandoned, because in their own experience the problem had not resolved.

In their 2011 safety communication titled “UPDATE on Serious Complications Associated with Transvaginal Placement of Surgical Mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledged women’s emotional health has been affected by TVM.

There is still a significant gap in the literature on women’s experience with POP and surgical repair. Researchers have stated that additional studies “are urgently needed on a wide variety of issues, and they particularly need to include women’s perceptions of prolapse symptoms.”

Medical providers with whom we’ve spoken report that women facing multiple surgical repairs for TVM, chronic pain and infection are not receiving the comprehensive physical and emotional support they need. Every aspect of life has been impacted, and for single women the prospect of finding a life partner is diminished due to an inability to have sexual intercourse. Sexual dysfunction is also affecting married women and their relationships.

So What Now?

As more women share their symptoms, support communities are developing. There are a number of health blogs and online groups where women can come together and talk about their experiences. Doctors also need to be responsible for addressing emotional health when treating TVM complications. The psychological effects of mesh failure are as important as the physical complications.

At the law office of Greg Vigna MD JD, we take a comprehensive approach to women injured by TVM, and integrate the social, emotional and psychological consequences into your case. Please contact us if you have been injured by this product. If you prefer to first speak with our female Nurse Practitioner who has directly cared for women suffering from mesh failure, please state this in your message.

Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2014 May-Jun;20(3):131-6. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000083.

Changed women: the long-term impact of vaginal mesh complications.

Dunn GE1, Hansen BL, Egger MJ, Nygaard I, Sanchez-Birkhead AC, Hsu Y, Clark L.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Apr 30;4:CD004014. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004014.pub5.

Surgical management of pelvic organ prolapse in women.

Maher C1, Feiner B, Baessler K, Schmid C.