Hernia Mesh 101

If you have a television in your home, chances are you’ve seen a commercial about the complications caused by hernia mesh. Unfortunately, those ads do little to inform viewers of what they’re really talking about. Below you will find information on hernias as well as hernia mesh and the complications associated with it.

What is a hernia?

A hernia occurs when an organ, intestine or fatty tissue squeezes through a hole or weak spot in the surrounding muscle or connective tissue.

Most hernias are caused by a combination of pressure and weakness in connective tissue. Hernia repairs are common, more than 1 million are performed in the U.S every year.

How is a hernia repaired?

Hernias may be treated with time and rest but if there are other complications or symptoms surgery may be required.

Laparoscopic Surgery – several small incisions in the abdomen, can be performed with or without surgical mesh

Open Repair– incision is made near the hernia and the week muscle is repaired. Open repair that uses sutures without mesh is referred to as primary closure, this is usually used to repair inguinal hernias in infants, small hernias, and strangulated or infected hernias.

Surgical mesh is a medical device that is often used to provide additional support to weakened or damaged tissue. Mesh can be made of synthetic or animal-derived materials that can be absorbable or non-absorbable.

Non-absorbable mesh will remain in the body indefinitely and is used to provide permanent reinforcement to repair to the repaired hernia. Absorbable mesh is not intended to provide long-term reinforcement to the repair site as it will degrade over time.

Unfortunately, many people have had complications with hernia mesh repairs.

Adverse effects may include:

• Pain
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Hernia recurrence
• Adhesion – scar like tissue that sticks together
• Obstruction – blockage of the large or small intestine
• Fistula – abnormal connection between organs, vessels, or intestines
• Seroma – fluid build-up at the surgical site
• Perforation – hole in neighboring tissues or organs

Many people that have had complications have had recalled mesh products that are no longer on the market. Numerous products by Atrium, Ethicon, Covidien and Bard have been recalled due to complications. By 2018, more than 50,000 hernia mesh lawsuits have been filed in both state and federal courts—with two of the largest contributors to individual cases being Ethicon/Johnson & Johnson’s Physiomesh and Atrium Medical Corporation’s C-Qur Mesh.

[table width =”100%” style =”table-bordered” responsive =”false”]
[table_head]
[th_column]Bard[/th_column]
[th_column]Atrium[/th_column]
[th_column]Covidien[/th_column]
[th_column]Ethicon[/th_column]
[/table_head]
[table_body]
[table_row]
[row_column]Composix[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur[/row_column]
[row_column]Parietex line of products[/row_column]
[row_column]Physiomesh Flexible Composite Mesh[/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Composix EX[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur Mosaic[/row_column]
[row_column]Parietex Composite (PCO) line of products[/row_column]
[row_column]Prolene 3D Mesh[/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Composix LP[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur Mesh V-Patch[/row_column]
[row_column]Parietex Composite Optimized (PCOx)[/row_column]
[row_column]Proceed Mesh[/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Composix Kugel[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur Lite Mesh V-Patch[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column]Prolene Hernia System (PHS) Mesh[/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Kugel[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur TacShield[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]3D Max[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur Edge[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Sepramesh[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur OVT Mesh[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Ventrio[/row_column]
[row_column]C-Qur RPM Mesh[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Ventrio ST[/row_column]
[row_column]Proloop[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Ventralex[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Ventralex ST[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Perfix Plug[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Spermatex[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[table_row]
[row_column]Visilex[/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[row_column][/row_column]
[/table_row]
[/table_body]
[/table]

What should I do if I’ve had problems?

If you have suffered severe mesh complications that required hospitalization or corrective surgery due to problems with the mesh used in your hernia repair surgery, contact McCoy, Hiestand & Smith today.

An experienced personal injury attorney will work with you to determine if you have a case and will fight for you if your injury has been caused by someone’s negligence

With decades of experience, we can help you seek the compensation you may be entitled to for your pain and suffering, medical bills and other expenses.