Get the Mesh Out! Doctors React to Patients Following FDA’s July Warning about Surgical Mesh
Nov 5th, 2011 | By Jane Akre | Category: Feature
Mesh removed after 3 months, Courtesy Liz Reece
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 – Last July 13 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the most strongly warning notice yet about complications associated with surgical mesh – women listened. (see back story here). So did men with the same sort of polypropylene mesh for hernia repair as did women with mesh for stress incontinence.
The legal community listened and responded too with frequent ads on television announcing the FDA decision that complications from transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse with synthetic mesh are not rare and that it was no longer clear that the use of mesh was more effective than tradition non-mesh repair. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed and cases may be heard next year.
It sounded like a recall notice, but not quite. While surgical mesh complications have included pain, infection, bleeding, organ perforation, mesh shrinkage and the return of prolapse or incontinence, the FDA is still on the fence about the future of synthetic mesh. And while a recall is possible, it is not thought to be likely.
Now surgeons are listening too after patients come in with questions and demands to get the mesh out.
MDND talked to a number of pelvic surgeons who are fielding calls and visits from worried and symptomatic patients.
Donald Ostergard MD
Donald R. Ostergard MD, Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, University Women’s Healthcare, U of Louisville, Ky
“We’re taking out mesh right and left for various types of problems and we’re going to see a lot more of it, “ Dr. Donald Ostergard says about synthetic surgical mesh.
“Mesh is the gift that keeps on giving. Erosion occurs, the vagina constricts and there is dysperunia, painful intercourse. You need multiple surgeries to get it out.”
Now at the University of Louisville, he and the residents and fellows are seeing cases of mesh complications that other physicians may or may not decide to remove.
“There is a complication rate is lower in incontinence tape is because there is so much less mesh put in – about ten percent. The more mesh the more complications” he says.
Dr. Ostergard has never been a fan of synthetic mesh.
“I gave a lecture to AUGS in 2006 on this topic and I was called a dinosaur who had his head in the sand about advances. As things have happened I feel vindicated. I wish this had been said some time ago. Polypropylene is not inert even though the manufacturers said it was inert.”
“It’s the biggest public health issue facing us now!”
Dr. Robert Moore
Robert Moore, MD, Atlanta Center for Laparoscopic Urogynecology, Atlanta, GA
“Patients who had mesh for any reason, if it’s included or not in the FDA warning are seeing the commercials by lawyers and say ‘I’ve got to come see you and have it taken out because it’s been recalled by the FDA.’ Some think it’s infected, should I have it out?” he says he is asked.
Dr. Moore says as a regional center for gynecologic health in the Southeast, they’ve always seen a fair amount of complications but the FDA notification has stepped up patient awareness. The five-fold increase in complication rate that was noted by the FDA in July, has pitted more experienced surgeons against those who were sold on surgical mesh “kits” and their ease and convenience for a financial bonanza.
Dr. Moore blames some less experienced doctors for the complications.
“One of the issues that has come out from all of this is that surgeons have implanted mesh without experience and not knowing how to handle the patient or are sending them to someone who can handle it. We are seeing them and I tell them it’s not the mesh, it’s how it’s put in and by who and how it was attached.”
Still the patients are concerned and nervous and they don’t want it in he says.
“That’s their decision.” And a patient who doesn’t want mesh is not a good candidate for surgery because of the legal liability.
Dr. Moore says that is partially why he and partner Dr. John Miklos are using slightly less mesh even though he says they already had a “judicious use of mesh with proper informed consent” with about 80% of procedures done laparoscopically.
He says ultimately the FDA notice will be a good thing because the patient is more involved and asking more questions and the FDA will likely require a registry of all patients who have mesh implants.
The most challenging removals are those involving larger pieces of mesh such as Avualta, though he doesn’t want to mention one brand over another. And even without mesh a patient can have complications and pain he says. Dr. Moore does not believe some people are just “high responders” or in the “contaminated field” that introduces bacteria during a vaginal mesh implant. Even without mesh a patient can still have pain and complications, he says.
“It’s never been zero percent complications.”
Dr. Shlomo Raz
Shlomo Raz MD, Urology, UCLA Health System, Los Angeles
With an busy schedule that any surgeon decades younger would aspire to, it is no wonder Dr. Raz is considered the “gold standard” of mesh removals. His administrative assistant, Elizabeth Vasquez tells MDND that Dr. Raz has four assistants and does 100 to 120 surgeries a month.
How has the practice changed since the July FDA health notification?”
“We’re being bombarded with people coming in with all kinds of complications that others have tried to remove but he can do it,” she says.
Vasquez says they fly in from all over the world. Recently women from as far away as Australia, Uruguay, Texas, the United Kingdom, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, friends, mother-in-laws and cousins all recommend Dr. Raz.
Dr. Raz is now booking for surgeries to be performed at the end of February. Vasquez says Dr. Raz sees 80 patients every Tuesday and Wednesday, 80 each day. He does surgeries Monday, Thursday, and Friday and that includes removing synthetic surgical mesh, averaging about 15 to 20 a month.
While some women come in for pelvic health testing, Vasquez says mesh has taken over any procedures.
“It may not be the mesh but how it was put in by another doctor. Before our patients came locally and we were not seeing as many severe complications.”
Despite the cost, many of the patients are self-pay meaning they may shell out anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 for a surgery. An additional abdominal procedure that requires three to five days in the hospital can cost much more though the clinic tries to work with patients to contain the cost.
Vasquez says what the doctor values the most are the hundreds of personal letters that come in from patients finally relieved of a life of pain.
“He reads them all.”
Dr. Daniel Elliott
Daniel Elliott MD – Urologic Surgeon Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
“At the Mayo Clinic we never used pelvic organ prolapse mesh so I’ve not seen a change at our practice since the FDA notification,” Daniel Elliott, MD tells MDND, but he also ads the clinic is fielding a huge number of telephone calls from women concerning mesh for various reasons whether they had it implanted to treat pelvic organ prolapse or incontinence. A couple of calls a week are coming into the Urology clinic that are mesh-related, he says “whether they express suffering from pain, erosion, or extrusion, or just a concern about having it removed.”
“We see a lot of patients coming in feeling they may have a problem from mesh that they thought was normal or were expected. We’re seeing a tremendous amount of concern.”
Dr. Elliott says the Mayo Clinic has innovated a surgical removal of synthetic mesh using lasers in additional to the traditional surgical removal, and procedure results will be unveiled at a national meeting. As other doctors have expressed, the more mesh, the more difficult it is to remove and the higher the chance of complications.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester is averaging about 50 calls a week with concerns he says. “All they hear is FDA mesh and warning,” he says and they are doing a “huge number” of anti-incontinence procedures that are not part of the FDA’s warning which addressed specifically complications of mesh repair for pelvic organ prolapse (POP).
Throughout the Mayo Clinics, POP repair is done the old fashion way with sutures which Dr. Elliott says work as well as mesh. He says it was not an institutional decision by an independent decision by the doctors working throughout the Mayo system not to use synthetic mesh when a strong aggressive sales force push encouraged its use.
“The industry always pushes and its the job of the physician to push back. All they want to do is push a product. Independently we said “ ‘why’ ?”
With a suture costing $5, medical sales representatives pushing mesh added $1,500 to $2,000 to the cost of a procedure.
“Why do it if we don’t know if it will work or not? I was doing it for financial reasons. For $5 worth of stitches, I thought it was more of a gimmick for surgeons who weren’t adequately trained. All of us here, at Mayo, I speak for myself, we all have advanced level training for prolapse.”
Mesh is used for transabdominal repairs to treat pelvic prolapse which, Dr. Elliott adds, is not part of the FDA warning.
Dr. Peggy Norton
Peggy A. Norton MD, Chief of Urogynecology, Pelvic Floor Center, faculty University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Dr. Norton talked to MDND by email and was asked how if at all her practice has changed since the July 13 FDA warning of serious complications associated with surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse.
“I am seeing more patients but WE NEVER DID VAGINAL MESH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH, (her emphasis) we are just taking care of other hospital’s complications. They are difficult patients (because they had a bad outcome, they are unhappy, and they are in pain) and if the world were a fair place, all mesh complications would be treated at the hospital where the mesh was put in originally. This would allow local hospitals to appreciate who is doing mesh, who has complications, who should be credentialed to put mesh in, and the overall risk/benefit ratio be appreciated.
“The mesh slings do have complications, but many, many more are done and the number of complications are both easier to take care of and more likely to completely resolve.
“The mesh for vaginal repair of prolapse is more difficult: fewer are done but the number of complications are higher, more difficult to remove, and some of those patients will not completely resolve the problem.”
Dr. M. Tom Margolis
Dr. M. Tom Margolis, Pelvic Surgeon/Urogynecologist, Bay Area Pelvic Surgery, San Francisco
How has the FDA notification of July 13th changed the practice of Dr. M. Tom Margolis of Bay Area Pelvic Surgery?
“The only thing that changed is people are coming in and saying whatever you do I don’t want mesh in there, to which I respond ‘Don’t worry I won’t put it in.’ ”
As far as calls for mesh removals, he says they are coming in from states all over the country and even as far away as calls from Great Britain. This has led to a removal or surgery to correct a complication of an additional two or three a month, at this point slightly more than before.
“The number of people contacting me has risen significantly and I’m not advertising. I get tons of calls and emails. Business has increased about 5% and I was doing 40 surgeries a week to begin with. I’m happy people are finding they can be treated and can have these problems corrected,” he said to MDND.
The biggest complication and removal problems are posed by the larger mesh kits he says.
“They continue to be challenging and they are hard to remove. The bigger the mesh, the bigger the mess,” he says pointing out the larger kits are the Apogee (AMS) here, Perigee (AMS) here, and the Avaulta (Bard) mesh kits.
Dr. Margolis does not implant surgical mesh transvaginally (through the vagina) because as he said to the FDA expert panel convened in September to consider whether to ban the medical device, the vagina is a “clean-contaminated field” that will always introduce bacteria, and the potential for infection.
He does use mesh laparoscopically for incontinence and occasionally uses biologics and sutures. #
Thanks again Jane, great information.
Thank you Jane for this information on pelvic surgeons.
So the Mayo Clinic is not using transvaginal mesh (TVM) for POP repair but it is doing a “huge number” of TVM surgeries for SUI? Did I read that correctly? There are MANY women out there with pain and problems from SUI mesh also. Especially nerve damage. Especially from the TOT’s. Just ask Dr Raz. He KNOWS….
Not one expert on the FDA’s OB-GYN Panel mentioned NERVE DAMAGE as a complication of TVM for either POP or SUI. Inserting TVM is a BLIND procedure and there are a lot of nerves in the pelvis such as the pudendal, ileo-inguinal, posterior femoral cutaneous, and obturator. I believe that nerve damage is undiagnosed and under-reported by the very surgeons who are inserting transvaginal mesh.
I LOVE Dr Raz. He is a very skilled surgeon who is able remove mesh from the deep pelvis, where even the majority of the “best of the best mesh removal experts” still will not venture because it’s “too dangerous because of all the nerves and blood vessels in the area”. He is also a very compassionate and caring person. He is the best!
Denise- Dr. Elliott submitted his comments in support of the Public Citizen petition to have mesh recalled.
See here:
http://meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/?p=493
It is unclear as I am uncertain if Dr. Elliott’s statement should be read as -They are placing a lot of mesh for SUI which is not part of the increased warning-…..or…. They are seeing a lot of mesh complications for SUI procedures and are doing those removals in spite of these devices not part of the 2nd increased warning. It is important to note the warning for mesh in the treatment of SUI is included in the 2008 warning.
I agree 100%! I had a t-sling put in December of 2012 and now I have all kind of problems, especially with my nerves. I now have Piriformis syndrome, Sciatica, Pudendal Neuralgia, and Coccyxdynia. I feel like I have glass in my vagina and bees are stinging me. I have a numb right labia, anus, and right butt cheek. My surgeon told me to go get therapy because it was back related and I said “yeah right, back of butt related”. To sit is to shit, otherwise, I have stay off of my butt to be pain free. I tried to work in pain like this at my sit down job for two months and I finally just couldn’t handle the pain and pressure on the nerves any longer. I have pains in places I have never had before. My hip, leg, and toes/feet.
To date it appears there is no clear cut answer to “who is the perfect mesh candidate for POP or SUI” yet the FDA is doing nothing to limit the number of surgeries with mesh, leaving it to lay person reporting. Clearly something needs to be done as the current system has no method for regulating surgeon qualifications or tracking the thousands of women already implanted.
Minimally invasive mesh surgery for SUI is apparently so easy a monkey could do it with these nifty mesh kits. Too bad the same monkeys can’t recognize a mesh complication if it hit them over the head with a frying pan and even if they did acknowledge the complications they would stand there scratching their head without the first clue how to get it out.
In my opinion if you haven’t a clue how to get mesh out you best not be putting it in, it doesn’t seem right that so many are abandoned and dismissed by the very surgeons who placed the mesh and others are left cleaning up after these surgeons while they continue to crank out these procedures while denying their patients ever experience complications.
Have you seen the Youtube videos putting it in? As a blind procedure it looks like the doc is sort of throwing it against the wall to see what sticks. Disregarding the fact that that is a live person who will suffer the consequences of their ignorance IMHO. Frightening …..
I don’t think I can watch that.
To me, it is outrageous that the mention of emotional trauma and loss of quality of life, permanently, are not mentioned. It does not have to be a large piece of mesh for this to happen. I had SUI mesh that has stopped my life as I knew it. I am unable to do “normal” chores, ie. grocery shopping. Let alone the projects I loved to do. I feel that harm done in this matter, is minimized while a defective dog food would be immediately pulled off the market. How this can keep going on . . . just unthinkable! As for SUI complications easier to take care of – that has not been my experience! I do believe the larger the mesh, the more damage because there is more surface area in contact with the body. The fact that these are permanently implanted with no plan for removal if a problem occurs is very disturbing.
That’s just it. They use an instrument to bore BLINDLY through delicate pelvic tissues, loaded with muscles, blood vessels, and NERVES! And then when complications occur, IF they acknowledge them at all, they say they can’t get all of the mesh out because it’s too dangerous! Too many blood vessels and nerves in the area, they say! Yet they don’t know or understand enough about these same nerves to diagnose injuries to them! What?!!?! Then why is it mesh BLINDLY inserted there in the first place? Oh yeah, I forgot…. The FDA’s 510(k) “clearance”, not “approval” process, says that it’s “substantially equivalent” to a mesh product that doesn’t use a “kit”. And, of course, the first mesh was grandfathered in when the 510(k) process started in the 1970′s and the 510(k) has now allowed mesh “kits” on the market w/o any pre marketing clinical trials! To my knowledge, Dr Raz at UCLA is the ONLY surgeon who can and is routinely removing mesh from the very deep pelvis where no one else will go. In and beyond the obturator muscle itself, obturator fossa (bone), pubic bone, and sacral nerve area. Please correct me if anyone knows of another surgeon doing this when needed.
I am new to the group and have had issues within a few months of surgery. With a nerve blocker I seemed to be fine for sometime or I just got used to the pain and then recently the pain has gotten so bad I can hardly tolerate! I have been back and forth between doctors and though they feel it is probably the mesh they want to continue masking with nerve blockers. I am so confused and frustrated! If they leave this in here what is going to happen to me? Financially how can I travel to another state to consult with a doctor and then go back for a surgery and recover to travel back home? If I only knew then what I know now! Just call me lost and confused!
Where do you need to be directed. What state are you in? We have some patient advocates who can help you….Go to the Resources page for their contact info.
I am in Missouri. I have seen Dr. Klutke but he did exam said was not errosian, did kidney test and cyst. and told me to have my gyno refer me back when there was nothing more he could do. My gyno has set me back to the original Uro that put the mesh in and when seeing him he was much better with bedside manner than 2-1/2 years ago when I had problems immediately following the surgery. He feels that part of it needs to come out. I am nervous as he is not on any list. I talk to him via phone today with my decision and have a few more questions but my insurance will not allow me to go to California. I believe that I have exhausted all that Missouri and my insurance has to offer me. Now just torn whether I am better off leaving in and living wih the pain or having partially removed and have to deal with the remainder later. I AM SO MAD right now at the manufacturers for putting all of these people at risk I can hardly stand it!
I’m so sorry Lisa… Your story is very similar to others who may not have the insurance to take them to UCLA in California. Check out the Resources list at the bottom of the home page. Some Patient Advocates may be able to provide some guidance as might others who see you comment here if they know what kind of mesh you had implanted. Again, I’m so sorry for your situation.
I may be two years late responding to this post but pain blocks are the next step for me. Imagine that. I get to travel to another state for pain blocks. I hope they work for at least a little while until I get enough money to go see Dr. Raz for removal or any other doctor that HAS experience. If I don’t die from complications, it will probably be a heart attack because my blood pressure is usually 115/74 AND NOW IT AVERAGES 142/100. I always really liked my doctor until I started having complications for him and he just says none of it is surgery related and is poo pooing all of my symptoms like there is not much if ANY concern.
To: Lisa
I do not want to replace any physician advice- I know many women experience worsening with partial removals. It would appear that women who underwent complete removals ( or as complete as possible) faired better in the long haul. ( I often wished I had erosion so my doctors would acknowledge my pain) Exaggerated scarring is an unappreciated complication the FDA is just now starting to understand in addition to mesh shrinkage that was not previously noted.
I never underwent a partial removal and had a complete removal- I believe I have had a better outcome. I opted for this after so many women in the chat rooms described an exacerbation of symptoms with partial removals (usually just dissecting the area under the urethra) Maybe Jane could ask for others to post about their symptoms and if they had partial removals if it benefited them as well as collecting info from those who had total removals and how they recovered. It is expensive and the current health care system puts meshies in jeopardy as so few doctors are even willing to acknowledge our problems.’
Disclaimer; (I am not a medical professional, just a mesh survivor this is not meant to replace your physicians advice)
Best wishes for a meaningful recovery!
I don’t know why you have anything on this website from Dr. Moore. He and is partner, Miklos deny any true issues with mesh. In every article written by them, they say it is never the mesh and only the technique used by OTHER surgeons. I have a friend who used them and when she had complications, severe pain, infection, etc. They told her it was absolutely not the mesh. They don’t mind admitting other surgeons have problems with mesh, but refuse any issues with their own.
Wanda- You make a great point and many people have problems with the Miklos Moore office because they still put in mesh AND take it out. The people here are not being held up as recommendations, but those docs who are seeing a lot of mesh removals, that’s all.
My case seems to be as bad as any I have heard. I had a lot of pain after surgury (several trips to ER) and my tt&e genocologist said the erosion of mesh was minor and wasn’t what was causing me pain. She scheduled regular office appointments about every 6 weeks for maybe a year and I could hear her clip (like the sound of toenails) some of the protruding mesh from the walls of my vagina. I finally did a self exam and was horrified. I could actually could feel what felt like 3 small wires protruding from the walls of my vagina! When I pushed the ‘wires’ they would ping back to their original position. I went to a urologist and had another surgury to cut out and remove as much of the mesh as he could. I have been told by two doctors that the only way to try to remove the rest was through an incision across my abdomen (I guess same as C section or tummy tuck?) And even with this major surgery complete removal was probably impossible. I am sexually inactive. I have reconnected with my childhood sweetheart and embarrassed to let relationship move past a few phone calls. My last vaginal examination was the most painful expereince I have ever had (and the doctor was unsympathatic). I have constant pain in my groin, lower back and bladder. I have almost no control of my bladder. Sometimes when voiding the walls of my vagina sting and it feels like urine is coming out my vagina. I also have blood in my stool occasionally. This usually follows a sensation of having my rectum (lower intestines) cut from inside so I can almost always predict. I lost my job several years ago. The only health insurance I can afford has a $10,000 deductible so I can’t always be unning to the doctor, and I’m assuming I can’t sue without a record of my sufferering.
Its me again. I guess there is a limit to my ranting and I was cut off. Sorry. But after keeping this bottled up for so long this is cathartic. I have also gotten out of bed on several occasions and experienced what felt like an EXTREMELY painful shot in my lower hip. I am depressed and have become very reclusive. Its hard to be with people or make plans when you never feel good. And now to my initial reason to write on this website; DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A DOCTOR IN HOUSTON I COULD SEE to possibly remove? Thank you for any advise you might give.
Hi I’ve been suffering with so many symptoms of TV mesh, I had it partially removed in 2009, but symptoms are getting worst, and the fact that it has eroded again, CAN ANYONE TELL ME OF A GOOD UROLOGYST OR SPECIALIST AT REMOVING TV MESH, MINIMALLY INVASIVE WITH GOOD RESULTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA? I’M IN W COVINA, CA, THANKS!
Maria, you need to get to Dr. Raz in LA. Has helped many many women with complete mesh removal. Good luck!!!!! From what I hear he is the best!
I was just wondering if anyone had ever tried going to the Mayo Clinic to have their mesh removed. My mom has had a lot of complications and stays sick all the time from the mesh inside her. I started looking into the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and thats were I ended up taking my mom to have it out. Mind you we live in Ky. The surgery was performed by Dr. Pettit. He was unable to get all of the mesh out. Now my mom has worse problems then before. It is frustrating because I thought the Mayo Clinic was the top notch. Now we are looking into another surgery to remove what Dr. Pettit couldnt. Im skeptical of any Dr at this point. Ive read so much about Dr. Raz at UCLA and I feel that is who I should take my mom to but the expense would be much. I do not have anyone behind me on this. My dad is against it and blames me for the money they are out by her failed removal at the Mayo Clinic. He says there has to be a Dr closer thats just as good. There could be, but I havent found one yet. He wanted me to look into Vanderbilt but the Dr there did mesh removal surgery on one lady and didnt get it all so she had to go to Dr. Raz. ~ Sarah
I have a friend you has battled 4 years of pelvic prolapse. She just had the surgical mesh removed…still a tough time for her. Is there a support groups for younger women with this issue? She feels so alone. Traveled to Tampa for her surgery since Naples doctors are only used to treating much older women. How can I help her get good advice…support?
Carrie- If it is alright with you I’ll send you along to a patient advocate for your friend….
HELP. Mesh put in July 2007, Dr said she went to seminars and this IS the best thing with an 18 year track record. I was sick day of surgery, had to go home with bag, kept having major pain, told kidney infections. Thanksgiving morning 2007 admitted to hospital with 104.7 and diagnosis Sebsis. No one could figure out why? Then constant ER admitting pain. I said kidney infection, doctors said no, but treated with pain meds and antibiotics. Doctor called a bunch of doctors and in I go for a snip?? No real explanation, pain, ache everywhere, told I have fibromyalgia. Yet, I do not fit the disease, pain in lower back, hands, feet, shoulders, another surgery for mesh invading vaginal wall and I have another trying to get through! I want the best doctor. How does someone research doctors to have this removed. I sit on lazy boy all day, life is over, gained 100 lbs! I am no longer a mother or wife! Please please someone help me….
Can anyone recommend a good doctor to remove mesh in Kansas City?
Kim-
Thanks for writing. As we’ve said so many times, the major problem is the mesh is much easier to put in than to remove. You will likely not find someone who is convenient to you to have a removal. You might find someone to do a partial removal, which, if you read about the experiences of others, often leaves them in worse shape.
This is a major issue and should be considered by anyone who is thinking of having mesh. Please join our Facebook page and listen to the experiences of mesh removal from others. Many have found that UCLA has the best docs for removal.. yes it is expensive…. yes it is inconvenient…but this is your life.
Dear Kim,
I have had a partial removal of my mesh but am now having more mesh penetrating into my vagina.
Did you find a doctor in the Kansas City area that you are satisfied with? Please help me.
Hi Kim I too live in Kansas City and am finding how difficult it is to find a real doctor that believes I am suffering from this whole mesh ordeal. I had mine installed in Aug of 2009. I went home with a Foley catheter for a week and they took it out and could not pee. So my dr said stop by cvs and buy catheters to do myself. He kept telling me it would take time. It took about 4 weeks around the clock inserting a catheter every couple of hours so they took me back in to surgery and [ released ] what he called the tape. Said it must have slipped upward during the procedure. Since then I have had 5 more procedures and now it is getting worse by the day. Both my hips are affected and the doctors seem afraid to admit or even treat me for this condition. Please let me know how you are doing and if you have had all the mesh removed.
I am from upstate NY. I searched for a doctor near me who could remove my sling. I was only offered partial removals, & even told it wasn’t possible to remove the whole sling. All my research made me not want a partial removal as I heard so many horror stories of women who had multiple partial removal surgeries & only got worse. I did hear of a couple docs in NYC, & one in MI, a couple in Atlanta that were doing full removals, in addition to Dr Raz & two of his associates @ UCLA. However, they were all at least a days drive from me. I heard Dr. Raz was the best, & only heard good things about him. I decided to go see him for a consult, & then booked surgery. It is in january.
While traveling to UCLA is certainly not convenient, I decided it was my best option & luckily my health insurance will cover out of state, even CA. It does seem ridiculous that there aren’t good options closer to home, but I’d rather wait & fly to the best, & hopefully get this mesh out in one surgery. All of it. Plus I figured, I’d I have to travel, drive for a day & stay in hotel, I might as well fly for a day & go to the best. This mesh is ruining my life & could effect the rest of my life. With such big stakes, I think it’s worth the effort to go to UCLA if at all possible.
I just had a full removal. The mesh had grown into my hipbone and was plastered to my bladder. I was in ICU for 3 days to correct blood problems. The pain from surgery beats that I had before with the mesh. Get it out. Driving now. text you shortly Lori fleck in mobile alabama is excellent and caring and doesn’t make you feel like you are crazy. She’s worth the trip from anywhere.
what is the correct phone number to get in touch with these surgeons?
Hello i am in Arkansas and need a surgery for full removal. I am terrified to have this done. Has anyone went to Dr. Miklo’s and Moore in Alanta Georgia?That’s who i have been thinking about going to. If so i would like to hear form you. My Email is connie.gayer@yahoo.com. Thank you.
Does anyone know of surgeons in the PA, NJ area that does mid urethral sling removals? It is a Boston Scientific Obtryx.
Maisie- Thanks for writing. We repeatedly find that there are so few doctors who can do an explant procedure when compared to the implant surgeons. I hope you get an answer. Look at Hope Pagano’s story in that she is NY based.
[...] MDND’s article, “Get the Mesh Out! Doctors React to Patients Following FDA’s July Warning about Surgical [...]
I had mesh with cystocele, rectocele and monarch for bladder leakage two yrs. ago. I am having major pain on my right groin and hurts upon walking. I also have severe abdominal pain and suffer from severe constipation since surgery. I’ve had CT scan of abdomen, x-rays, colonoscopy, but the pain continues on my left lower quadrant, groin and leg. I need to see a urogynocologist in Texas. I can’t afford to go out of state as I am unemployed. Please help!
Dr Norton (Utah),
Do you remove mesh used in umbilical hernia repairs as well? I had Ventralex Mesh used on my Umbilical Hernia in May 2010 (at Jordan Valley Medical Center).
Can all you kind people please sign our petition. Thank you.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/the-medicine-health-regulator-united-kingdom-are-failin.html