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Removal of mesh after inguinal hernia repair.

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adele_89294
adele_89294

Is anyone out there aware of any person who has had to have mesh removed due do mesh inguinodynia after inguinal hernia repair with mesh?

6 likes, 596 replies

596 Replies

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  • manar12476
    manar12476 adele_89294

    Posted

    Hi Adele,

    My wife had defective inguinal hernia mesh removed 1.5 years ago in NYC by Dr Brian Jacobs. She had it in her for almost 10 years. The removal was successful n surgeon found pinched nerves , blood n scar tissues. He repair it using her own skin so no foreign object. So far she is doing better, sharp pain is gone n her mobility is back but limited n Dr said this damage is irreversible which we understand. Now recently she is having issues with bowel movement as it's very inconsistent and causing her pain. Planning to schedule another appointment with that surgeon to look further into it.

    Hope you have a better news

  • jne
    jne adele_89294

    Posted

     There’s lawsuits against mesh-Mine was so painful I could barely move! It took me a while to get to the lawsuit wink

    Good luck it was a nightmare 

    • ed13865
      ed13865 jne

      Posted

      jne, what is the status of your lawsuit?  Are you in the US?  Is your lawsuit against the doctor, hospital or mesh supplier.  I am under the impression that you can only win a lawsuit if it is against the mesh supplier and the mesh was defective.  Is this what your attorney has told you?  Thank you.  Ed
  • donna270566
    donna270566 adele_89294

    Posted

    Could I please ask how you got your doctor to take you serious about your patch. I have been told it's all in my head thank you xx

    • GRWriter
      GRWriter donna270566

      Posted

      Donna, I put everything in a letter and attached evidence that I gathered from sites such as this-he had no idea of the problem. Luckily, and by chance, I had to book in with a colleague of his who listened intently. He prescribed low dose Ametryptelene and recommended that I continue with private deep massage to keep the mesh mobile.  These two are helping very much. I suffer after the massage but the next day I am pain free unless I do something strenuous.  This has worked for me but I cannot judge if it will work for you. A letter on your file giving details must be beneficial.  If I can add more, please let me know.  Best of luck. Derek
  • johny66
    johny66 adele_89294

    Posted

    I have the same issue, due to inguinal hernia operation. I was told the mesh would degenerate after 3.0 years. D:10/14. Im at 3.5 years and over excerted lifting material and could feel a painful bulge patruding out. I would stop immediately and with a couple fingers push something back in, poping kinda, sharp pain, make ya twitch when i did it. Then i would be very conscience of how much i would lift. I am now on the scedule to repair or replace the mesh that tore loose.
  • gordy92835
    gordy92835 adele_89294

    Posted

    I had hernia mesh removal 4 1/2 years ago and I am better off now but not pain free. This is a serious daunting undertaking by any surgeon , My guy did a good job but sat my wife and I down and educated us on how this works. You need to be a good candidate for this and try not to worry, there are many risks to this and the odds of you getting better are good however you will not be 100% and it takes a long time to heal from this. There will be scar tissue for sure and if they remove the mesh the big deal is now you have a hernia again.  Well that may be fixed without mesh but no guarantees.  In my case I had enough scar tissue and muscle mass that no mesh was reinstalled.  My advise is this, we are all built differently and if you find a good surgeon who is qualified make sure that he or she understands this, there is no one fits all solution and you want what is best for you , not the same procedure the last guy had.  Good thoughts for you and just know that the healing is slow I mean maybe years.  Gordy
    • ed13865
      ed13865 gordy92835

      Posted

      Gordy, who was your surgeon and where is he located?  Did he use CT scans to determine what your specific condition was and what he needed to do?  Would you recommend him?  Thank you.  Ed
    • gordy92835
      gordy92835 ed13865

      Posted

      My guy was Peter Billings in Edmonds Wash he was at the Mayo clinic for 7 years and was careful and compassionate. Hernia mesh is a complicated topic it can go really well or horrible with results that this industry should not tolerate. If this stuff is so great why do they come out with a new one every few years. The complication rate is somewhere between 15-30% I know of no other business that could function with that.  The mesh companies are getting rich on a procedure that at this rate is very questionable. I wish 20/20 or 60 minutes would do a show on this.
    • audrey10034
      audrey10034 gordy92835

      Posted

      i believe a canadian show did...it was called W5 ...maybe you can do a google search...thx audrey
    • ed13865
      ed13865 gordy92835

      Posted

      Gordy, thank you.  In addition to the problem with the actual mesh itself, have you heard how much of the problems are due to improper installation, too much material, not following procedures, etc?
    • gordy92835
      gordy92835 ed13865

      Posted

      All of these issues are part of the bigger problem. There needs to be a gold standard by which the industry follows.  Current medical schools are not teaching the methods of repair involving techniques other than mesh.  Some peoples bodies reject mesh and give reactions to it,why do they not test to see if this may be toxic to some.  The one fits all does not work in these cases we are all unique and production line surgery as is done in many hospitals just has problems.  The doctors are all aware of this but the bottom line involves profit so each procedure is given only so much time before they roll in the next one.The mesh companies have deep pockets and lawyers who can fight or delay for years, bad business model but money and greed are sometimes it seems more important than health and well being.
    • jonah30439
      jonah30439 gordy92835

      Posted

      Well said and so true Gordy. The fact that Mesh repairs have essentially completely erased pure tissue repairs is in my opinion negligent. I did not have a allergic reaction or a mesh infection-my mesh folded up into a rock hard ball.

      The fact that patients don’t have a option whether to do a pure tissue or a mesh repair is insane. The plastic they put in if it goes wrong is meant to be a permanent structure so the patient is screwed if something goes wrong and is left to suffer and figure it out themselves while the medical community turns the other way.

      The use of mesh is built on faulty premises.

      First the main argument is that mesh repairs are superior to non mesh repairs but if you look at the shouldice hospital in Canada’s stats they have a less than 1% chronic pain and less than 1% recurrence. This is far superior to the supposed 3% recurrence from mesh. I meant that’s it case closed.  But what the mesh numbers are really saying is that the surgeons are no longer skilled enough to do pure tissue repairs so the recurrence is higher. Throw in a specialty hospital where all they do is non mesh repairs and you have superior results.

      So sad that one has to travel to Canada and pay out of pocket if they want a expertise non mesh repair.

      The fact that the US and other countries at the very least don’t have a shouldice type hospital is nuts.

      Secondly in the quest to lower recurrences they did not take into consider pain from the mesh. And chronic pain from mesh is believed to be much higher 16-30%. Very sad when you take into consideration that this a permanent device like a scaffolding of sorts.

      Unfortunately rate cannot tell researches how much pain they are in.

      And of course there is no research on what happens to mesh after being in the body for 20,30,40,50 years.

      Something has to change-it can be something so simple retrain surgeons on non mesh repairs and give patients a choice with a honest explanation of the risks and rewards to each procedure.

    • gordy92835
      gordy92835 jonah30439

      Posted

      My response on medical schools not teaching non mesh repairs was relayed to me by my surgeon who does know how to do this.  He as well as myself believe the profit motive in the mesh business is so lucrative and out of control that they have a war chest so full of money ,lawyers and lobbyists that mesh is pushed on most with out a realistic discussion with the patient.

      I am sure any of reading this were told that this is a simple procedure and you will good as new in 3 or 4 weeks. Looking back when I went down this road I proceeded fearlessly and believed all the crap they dished out.  The problem as you all know is that when things do not go well your Docs will do a couple of followups and then kick you to the curb, THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS.  so they deny that you are damaged and tell you to give it 6 mos, then 1 year and then more. Education on this matter is the only thing we as patients can do spread the word tell anyone you know that before they go under the knife learn all you can to make the decision that works best for you all.  Those little 3 inch by 6 inch pieces of plastic mesh bill out between $1000 and $1500 depending on where you are. Does this sound right to anyone.

    • ed13865
      ed13865 gordy92835

      Posted

      Jonah and Gordy, thank you for the additional insight.

      As I sit here with a low level of pain but knowing it will be very painful when I try to stand up, there are two additional points I would like to add.

      The first is how many people are in pain that are not reported?  Did my doctor list me as a hernia surgery failure that is in significant pain and cannot lead a normal life?  Or am I in the successful surgery category?

      The second is the additional misdiagnoses that the mesh may cause.  I was originally diagnosed by an excellent colon surgeon and one at Sloan Kettering as having a rare, flat non-polyploid tumor in my cecum.  This tumor clearly showed up on two colonoscopies.  I was supposed to have a major operation to take out my cecum.  Fortunately, the Sloan surgeon looked into the situation further and felt very strongly that I did not have a tumor but that the mesh was pushing against my cecum making it look like I had a tumor.  I did significant searches and found out that this has happened to others.  Some had gone ahead with the cecum or other organ surgery.  If a doctor removes a cecum and then finds no tumor, how often is the patient even told they did not have a tumor?

    • sunny15135
      sunny15135 gordy92835

      Posted

      Hi gordy,

      I am about to undergo inguinal mesh removal surgery as well. I would like to know one thing regarding your surgery. Did your doctor use non absorbable sutures or absorbable sutures to stitch your scar tissue to the required place near the inguinal region ?.

      kindly reply asap.

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