Comments on: Hernia repair problems could be caused by defective surgical mesh

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:31:17 +0000

I had a small hernia repair in Nov of 06. Prolene mesh was used. Had increasing pain through out 07 until in Oct. 07 surgery was performed to cut the right inguinal nerve to eliviate the pain I was having. It did not work and by Jan of 08 I was so sick I could barely walk. Finally met a surgeon was that was aware of the problems associated with Prolene mesh and 3 days later the mesh was removed. In April I had another surgery and lost my right testicle because of all the damage done by the mesh. (loss of a testicle is described in the product warnings. Anybody’s Dr. tell them that? Me neither. )The Dr. also found more mesh and had to remove quite a bit of scar tissue. Now…as to the comments made by “Rick”…Ethicon has known about the problems with Prolene mesh for ten years.They have remanufactured it, repackaged it and promoted it to surgeons world wide. I know of guys in my little town that are having major problems with their mesh. Two of them have had removals of mesh and a testicle. Buddy…I’m not obiese…I used to ride road bike over 80 miles a week. Worked hard, made a good living….ALL OF THAT IS GONE NOW! Damn right I am mad AND I want compensation. I’m in 24 hour pain and can’t work in my profession. So have a little sensitivity and learn about what this mesh is doing to people before you spout off about things you have no knowledge of.

By: Reanee

Reanee — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:32:36 +0000

I had hernia repair from a temporary colostomy and from abdominal exploratory surgery ( right down the middle of my abdomin) in January 2005. Now 3 years later I am having alot of abdominal discomfort due to a pulling feeling. And my most recent problem is a hard,firm lump near and into my belly button that has redness around it and very painful to touch. I have had a fever the past 2 nights.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:06:03 +0000

No surgeon is perfect and no medical device is perfect. You people should quit your whining, stop trying to get money from these medical companies, and continue to live your life. There are risks associated with each and every surgery and your doctor should have explained those risks before you had surgery.
If you went to a bad doctor, thats your problem. If you were non-compliant after surgery, thats your problem. If most of you folks were not so obese, these hernias would not be an issue in the first place.

By: Todd Henry

Todd Henry — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:34:36 +0000

I have had pain, iritation, obstruction and swelling since a hernia repair with PROLENE mesh in 1997. It doesn’t go away and I live with it.

I had a conventional surgery done on the other side and no problem whatsoever. I don’t believe the mesh patch is the best way to go for inguinal hernia repair.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:20:42 +0000

In 1993 I had a ventricul hernia surgery where mesh was put in. My stomach from that time on had a knot that stuck out like a sore thumb.In October 2005 I had a CTScan and it showed I had a ventricul hernia which was extremely large my hernia stuck out like a basketball from the rest of my stomach.I had this surgery May 2006 My doctor had to piece pieces of mesh together to cover the hernia. He said he had used over 300 stitches on the inside and I had 80 staples on the outside. Within a week of being released from the hospital I had several knots raised up in my stomach. I ended up in the hospital on June 14 where I was admitted for 7 days and had to have a drain put in because I had a huge abcess. June 28 I was again admitted to the hospital because of another abcess and was also hooked up to a pain machine for 14 straight days with it pumping Dilauda into me 24/7 as well as a drain and loads of IV antibotics I was in the hospital for 16 days this time. I again got another abcess which the doctor drained in his office to only have it filled back up within an hour or so.I was admitted to the hospital on July 28 for 14 more days again with lots of pain medications, drains, and loads of IV antibotics. I was again admitted to the hospital August 18 for another week with more drains, pain medication, and IV antibotics. I was admitted to the hospital again the middle of October for another abcess and again there were lots of IV antibotics and pain medication. I was there for a week. I was again admitted with two abcesses the first part of December where I was given IV antibotics and pain shots around the clock. I was again admitted in January 2007 for another abcess and then again in February, 2007 I was in the hospital again in July, 2007 with severe stomach pain which the doctors could not explain yet they said the CT scan showed signs of where an abcess had been shortly before. I had numerous emergency room visits but the doctors could not tell me what is causing my pain. I was admitted to the hospital this February 2008 and the CT Scan showed 2 more abcesses again I was treated with antibotics. I was given several medications that is suppose to help the pain the only problem is if I take the medication it helps but it knocks me out for days on end and this is no joke I will take the medication and then go to sleep for days on end.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:41:27 +0000

This is what has happened to me. I was a very athletic, healthy, energetic woman with no history of medical problems whatsoever ok? Then in 2002 I was rushed to emergency and admitted to hospital for two days, hooked up with morphine and the works because of Right side pain. They did every test imagninable to rule out appendicitis, hernia, and anything else. Never came back and told me they found a hernia on the tests taken, but I guess hmm, That could happen. AFter I stayed there for two days I was sent to a surgeon (Dr. Bruce Masselink)who saw me for two seconds, told me to cough and said oh, you have a femoral hernia. I had no idea what that was, but he said I need to have surgery. After I went home I kept feeling to see if I had a lump, and nothing, but I”m not a doctor yet stil a little skeptical. Went ahead and scheduled the surgery, had right side now (ingunial) hernia repair. A month out (waited to see if the pain would subside) I became more uncomfortable on my right side pelvic area and had excruciating pain. Wen to my normal visits and was told it was normal. Time went on and I got worse, At the time I had a great job and great insurance. Continued to go back and he finally decided to do an exploratory surgery to remove the mesh. Flat mesh (3×6) Prolene. Before I had the exploratory surgery I went in for right side complications still, and he noticed that I had a hernia now on the left side. Now you can just imagine what is going on in my mind. We did the left surgery before the right exploratory and everything went fine. Now back to the right side. He went in did an exploratory, I went home and about passed out because of how swollen I was. I figured it was just from the surgery, but still said omg, this doesn’t look normal. Guess what?? 5 years later that swelling is still there, and hurts to touch it even lightly. Now, after the 2nd exploratory I’m consistently going to doctors about my problems, rectal bleeding, when I had a bowel movement it felt like my insides were ripping out, and the list goes on. I had embarrassing tests (rectal) only for them to say oh, it’s nothing. So I continued suffering, and now I am becoming more depressed because no one seems to understand what is going on with my body, and not listening to the one person who knows her body more than anyone, and knows that it is normally healthy and strong, and that is me. Anyway, this went on now for a couple of years, tests, doctors appointments, now I have lost my great job of 7 years because of this. Finally in 2005 I go in and have another surgeon do another surgery on the right side. He said it was all messed up in there and did what he could to loosen entrapped nerves and the rest. Now it is 2008, I still have the mesh in the left side (bard mesh flat) and supposably the mesh was removed from the right side. When my original surgeon did the 2nd exploratory surgery he told me that he had to go around to my back to untrap nerves and remove mesh that had traveled back there, but when another doctor came in he changed his story. He told me this after I was in his office consistently complaining of back pain right after the 2nd surgery. I said this is weird, why does my back (lower right) hurt so bad. Then, a couple weeks later a test revealed that I had some fluid in my back. Primary physicians nurse told me it was an infection in my back, and my surgeon was ignoring it, and she went on to tell me that I should sue. I still ignored it hoping it would all go away. Now this is the 2nd mysterious infection I had because after the first hernia repair on the right side, I got an infection in one of my feet, on the toes which left me missing my big toenail. That was embarrassing because nothing like that has ever happened to me. Again, it was blown off as nothing. Now, when I am told I can go have a neurolgogist look at my back and drain whatever is in there, my surgeon says no. He denied me being able to go there and have them do that and I never understood why. Now I do. So that is my story and it goes on and on. Now I am jobless, have no insurance, in constant pain, on pain meds and can’t function without them, try to but feel like I am literally dying I’m in so much pain, and nothing is being done about it. Where is the justice and when is someone going to listen to us suffering that didn’t specifically have the kugel that was re-called, but other mesh used? We need compensation so we can get our family life back in order, and we need someone to listen to us now.

By: Austin Kirk

Austin Kirk — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Medina,

Please contact our office toll free at (800) 522-0102 or Request a consultatation so we may speak with you and review whether you may have a claim.

By: M. Medina

M. Medina — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:59:43 +0000

Had a Ventral Hernia Supraumbilical incision repair (not lapraoscopic)done in Sept. 2007. Ventralex Mesh was implanted. Less than two months later severe abdominal pain, irregular bowel movements, several trips to doctors’ offices (including emergency room visits), xrays, lab tests, etc… before getting an appointment to see the surgeon who performed the repair. Had CT SCANS done then told it was a recurrent hernia (within 2 months!?). Post surgery, I was told by surgeon the mesh was very strong and recurrent hernia unlikely. ‘I only want to do this one time’, is what he said.
Now he says, I’ll have to undergo a second surgery to repair to the same exact area and he may need to use a larger mesh.
Not satisfied with this response. Went to a second surgeon, very detailed and thoroughly went over my records and CT SCANS (something the original surgeon did not do). Second surgeon suspects technical failure but won’t know for sure until he performs Lapraoscopic on me. He said if the mesh needs to come out he will do so. I’m scheduled in two weeks. Do I have a potential claim against first surgeon for loss of wages, pain and suffering, not being able to operate my part-time carpet/tile cleaning business, or enjoy family activities, the list goes on… Your advise is appreciated.

By: A. Diederich

A. Diederich — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:01:55 +0000

I had hernia surgery in August, 2007. I ended up with a fistula which caused a puncture in my bowel. After another 2 1/2 weeks in the hospital with nothing to eat or drink and strong doses of antibiotics, I had to have another surgery to remove the mesh patch which caused the problem. My surgeon used Proceed Mesh (Ethicon) I am still having problems with pain, bloating, nauseau, etc. nearly 6 months later. The surgeon has been nothing but helpful, but cannot figure out what is causing my problems. Has this type mesh had any recalls? Thank you.

By: Ann Mc Nabb

Ann Mc Nabb — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:11:06 +0000

I have had a Prolene Mesh Patch put in Fall of 2006. I have heard that they reported that there was a phony Prolene out about that time and the Doctors were alerted. But do we know if mine was one of the phony ones on the market. Yesterday I could not stand or hardly walk. I hope this is not the beginning of night mares to come. I walk at times like I still have a hernia. Ann McNabb

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:33:47 +0000

I had hernia surgery in April 2007. The mesh was in about 6 weeks in that time I had a seroma which was drained once or twice a week, I then
got and abcess and had to have the mesh removed and had another material put to replace the mesh, had to have that material removed also. I now have and open wound on my stomach that will not heal.

By: Barry Winiker

Barry Winiker — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:57:54 +0000

My wife had open hernia surgery 3 months ago. She is now experiencing abdominal pain, sometimes severe. The Surgeon totally brushed it off, saying that it is “impossible” that this is related to the surgery. Reluctantly he’d be willing to see her in a week, though the issue seems to require a more urgent response. Is there any point of seeing this Dr. again, or do we find another Dr. to diagnose the problem?

By: Jennifer Dunn

Jennifer Dunn — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:42:52 +0000

I had repair done in Aug. 2002. I had some kind of mesh with some sort of metal.I’ve had nothing but problems. Swelling, fevers, stomach pain, a discharge from my right side of my lower stomach, right back pain. The discharge is my concern. It has a very unpleasant smell. I have no clue where this is coming from. It leaks out of an old scar on the right lower part of my stomach. Then I get a hot spot that bleeds and is sore for quite some time. My doctor won’t even see me when I call for an appointment.I did not know what he put in me until I got sick and had to go to our local hospital. Do you think this is worth worrying about?

By: geraldine smith

geraldine smith — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:47:30 +0000

I had surgery may 2006, I had a hernated diaphram they used prolene mesh. Do they have a recall on that? I have had pain every since they put in in also, every since had problems with bowl movements.