While surgical meshes have been used for years to implement repairs, offer support and promote healing, there are numerous reasons why some meshes that are currently in use have a propensity to cause pain, infection and even fail.
Hernia Mesh is a medical device that is implanted within the body by a surgeon—designed to patch or repair an area of the body where fatty tissue, an internal organ or intestine has bulged through a hole or weakness in the surrounding muscle or connective tissue.
There are numerous types of hernias and corresponding surgical procedures to correct each one, but several have commonly involved the use of hernia mesh and thus are typically the ones that exhibit problems months or years later. One of the most common types of injury that uses mesh in its repair is the inguinal hernia. It starts with a weakness in the inner groin area and then allows abdominal contents into the inguinal canal, causing pain and discomfort. Another type is the ventral hernia, or one that has pushed through a weakened area of the abdominal wall. And then there’s the incisional hernia. This occurs when an organ or tissue bulges through or reopens a past surgical incision.
Over time, common problems with hernia patients have included, but are not limited to side effects such as chronic pain, inflammatory, allergic or hypersensitivity reaction, swelling, adhesion to bowels or other organs, bacterial infections, encapsulation or “folding over” of the mesh, intestinal obstructions, organ perforation, mesh migration (moving throughout the body), and fistulas (bowel perforation or blockage).
Manufacturers of Hernia Mesh that May Fail or Cause Problems
- Atrium – Makers of the C-Qur hernia mesh
- C.R. Bard (Davol) – Makers of the Composix, Sepramesh and Ventrio meshes
- Covidien (Tyco) – Makers of more than half a dozen hernia mesh devices
- Ethicon/Johnson & Johnson – Makers of Physiomesh, Prolene, and Proceed meshes
- Gore – Makers of DualMesh and DualMesh Plus