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Failure of mesh?

Posted , 6 users are following.

sharon94595
sharon94595

Can mesh fail after 8 years? I think my hernia is back.

0 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • ed66
    ed66 sharon94595

    Posted

    Unfortunately Sharon, yes..

    Mine failed after 2 years, had to have it removed just before Christmas last year.

    What symptoms are you having with it?

    • sharon94595
      sharon94595 ed66

      Posted

      A rather large solid lump just under my breastbone which gets bigger when I eat and bulges out when I cough. It doesn't hurt but it's right in the middle of my old scar. I was told at the time that the mesh would mean it wouldn't return. I'll ring doctors in the morning. Thanks for replying.

    • ed66
      ed66 sharon94595

      Posted

      Definitely give them a ring..

      I had a replacement mesh which unfortunately has started to "slip" down, I can "feel" it at the top of my thigh and side of pubic bone ??.

      If you're in London, I have an amazing surgeon at long last after schleping from one to another in a desperate bid to believe me. As it transpires I was tight in regard to the mesh that needed removing as it has attached to things it shouldn't and had to be dug out. Awful experience.

      Do not give up. Do lots of research in regard to finding a surgeon and Never take no for an answer.

      I know my body and I know when something is wrong. I have never been wrong yet and I have have had 3 inguinal hernia's, 4 umbilical and various other surgeries.

      Good luck and stay strong!

  • debbie59329
    debbie59329 sharon94595

    Posted

    I haven't had my surgery yet, but my Consultant has warned me that there is a 20% chance of the hernia recurring at any time.  I'd have it checked out to be sure.

    • sharon94595
      sharon94595 debbie59329

      Posted

      I was told that it wouldn't come back. I'm ringing doctors in the morning. Thanks for replying.

  • shirley133
    shirley133 sharon94595

    Posted

    Have you had it checked out, when I had my repair done I asked my surgeon how long he would guarantee the mesh for and he said 5 years.   I was pretty green then but I now know I should have asked more questions.  think you must see a doctor. hope all goes well
  • moandrieu
    moandrieu sharon94595

    Posted

    Reading all these responses has me wondering. I had my surgery in India and you just don't ask doctor's questions there. I had no idea that it might fail. Ugh! Does anyone know if there are things you can do to prevent that? I'm sure nothing is fail proof, but maybe there are wiser choices I can make.

  • shirley133
    shirley133 sharon94595

    Posted

    Hi Moandrieu  Wishing I had asked more questions about the mesh, but yes it can fail and as I am a ballet teacher I asked about the effects of exercise on the mesh, he said that whether you exercise or dont exercise, really does not have any effect on the longevity of the mesh.. I truly believe that in years to come hernias will not be repaired with mesh, with all the current litigation in the USA about tansvaginal mesh etc., a different way will be found not involving mesh.  There is some evidence that it is not inert and can release toxins into your body, causing disease including autoimmune disease.  Apparently 22 percent of those with mesh implants have some kind of negative reaction too it, so I truly believe it will be removed from the market one day.  At the moment I dont feel that I am in the 22 percent of those affected adversely by mesh. but I sure wish I had known all this before I went ahead with it. would have definitely thought twice about it.  
    • moandrieu
      moandrieu shirley133

      Posted

      Gosh, that's just crazy. Now I want to do some research. My brother had had it done a few months before me, in the USA, so I didn't think much about it when the doctor wanted to do the same thing for me. I'm also a little leary of what I'll find. Ignorance is bliss.

  • shirley133
    shirley133 sharon94595

    Posted

    Hi Moandrieu,  the advise I give to myself is it would be extremely difficult to take the mesh out if not impossible, and with the caveat for you that I am old (70).  I take life one day at a time, get on with life do the best I can, and what will be will be.  If you want to research more about mesh problems try some of the mesh groups on facebook.  A good place to start is mesh me not.  However, if you are well at the moment best not to look, and just enjoy your life 22percent of folks with mesh do not sucumb to side effects.  

     

    • moandrieu
      moandrieu shirley133

      Posted

      Wow, 22%! Those are hardly in enyone's favor. I did do a little searching last night and didn't find a whole lot in regards to it's failure rate. It was some interesting reading. Mine was laprascopic with the mesh and I guess I was under the impression that the tissue would adhere to it and eventually the mesh is going to disolve away...at the spead that a piece of fabric would in a warm moist environment - meaning it will take a long time for that to happen. And the the mesh had a higher success rate than one that was simply stitched. I did find a really cool video of the surgery. I'm so thankful I didn't watch that before I had my belly filled with gas and poked. I flinched quite a bit through that video!

    • anneinwales
      anneinwales shirley133

      Posted

      You are 70 - I am 75 and recently had inguinal hernia repair. Straightforward, darn technique without mesh. No problems or pain yet, but it took 3 months before I was sure the wound had healed properly.

      I really wasn't sure whether to have the repair done, but time will tell.

    • shirley133
      shirley133 moandrieu

      Posted

      Hi Mondrieu the 22% is for those who have problems caused by mesh not mesh failure rate I have seen the firgures for failure rate and they are out there, but I cant remember what they are.  Just to be clear the mesh is not going to dissolve,once it is in there it is going to stay in there, and can only be removed by further surgery.  I have a friend who has had an umbilical hernia repair with mesh several years ago and she is well, the mesh has not failed and it is not making her ill, so there is hope, it is just that for some folk it does fail and for others it does make them ill.  Hope you have the same outcome as my friend, a win win situation.
    • moandrieu
      moandrieu shirley133

      Posted

      Unfortunately, I'm not sure what kind of mesh I have, but there are biodegradeable. [From wikipedia] Biomeshes are increasingly popular since their first use in 1999] and their subsequent introduction on the market in 2003. Their use is an instance of regenerative medicine. Contrary to synthetic non-absorbable meshes, they are absorbable and they can be used for repair in infected environment, like for an incarcerated hernia. Moreover, they seem to improve comfort and presumably, they reduce the risk of inguinodynia. They have been tested after mesh-related inguinodynia. Some meshes have a comparable price to high end of synthetic meshes, the cheapest ($500) being Surgisis-Biodesign, manufactured by Cook Group, made from the extra cellular matrix of pig small intestinal submucosa. Currently, there exist also one synthetic totally absorbable mesh, Tigr Matrix, manufactured by Novus Scientific, on the US market (510(k) Food and Drug Administration clearance)[37] since 2010 and on the EU market since 2011. It only has one 3-year pre-clinical evidence on sheep.

      Though their benefit is not fully established yet, the market of biological meshes is exploding, and if the current trend is confirmed, they may replace synthetic meshes in the US by 2016.

      I found the above article interesting. Though, most mesh are permanent there are some that will eventually disinegrate. I've got mixed feelings about that. Part of me would like to not have a mesh implant in me forever, but does that mean the hernia will reappear?

      I also saw an article in the daily news about pig being used...the biological mesh is made predominantly of collagen, which occurs naturally in our bodies, and the structure of the pig collagen is very similar to a human’s. The patient’s cells will grow and integrate naturally into the graft and the body won’t reject the patch.’

      Interesting. Thanks for encouraging me to read more. I'm pretty sure I just have the average run of the mill mesh.

       

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