Vaginal mesh: What YOU should know about the controversial urinary incontinence cure
VAGINAL mesh implants are used to treat urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse - a condition where one or more of the pelvic organs bulges into the vagina, causing symptoms of backache, heaviness or a dragging discomfort.
Vaginal mesh: Hundreds of women have reported discomfort
Surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse is relatively common, according to the NHS.
They estimate that one in ten women will undergo such a procedure for the condition by the time they’re 80 years old.
However, the surgery is not always successful, and the prolapse - and its painful symptoms - can return.
In these cases women are offered a vaginal mesh, also called a sling implant.
Urinary incontinence: Vaginal mesh is often used to treat the condition
Vaginal mesh is used to support the vaginal wall and sometimes the internal organs, such as the bladder, womb or bowel.
It’s used to support the vaginal wall and sometimes the internal organs, such as the bladder, womb or bowel.
There are approximately 1,500 of these quick operations carried out every year.
As well as pelvic organ prolapse, they can be used to treat urinary incontinence - where urine leaks involuntarily.
According to the NHS, most women respond well to the quick treatment.
Painful side-effects: Senior doctors are calling for a public inquiry after hundreds of complaints
However, there have been reports from a significant number of traumatic complications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the government watchdog.
These include persistent pain, sexual problems, mesh exposure through vaginal tissues and occasionally injury to nearby organs, such as the bladder or bowel.
According to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, more than 800 women claim the treatment has affected their quality of life.
However the treatment - which involves an operation where the vagina is opened at the vaginal wall to secure the mesh in place - is not life-threatening.
What is Incontinence?
Sex life: Many women have reported that the vaginal mesh has caused painful intercourse
At a meeting in parliament this week, after a group of UK patients began class action against manufacturers, senior doctors called for a public inquiry into its use.
This comes after a recent study published in the journal Lancet which showed the readmission rate for one form of mesh surgery for prolapse was 19 per cent.
Additionally, a report by the MHRA revealed that there was a one to two per cent of pain or “erosion” for mesh procedures for incontinence.
Other options for treating pelvic organ prolapse include pelvic floor exercises, hormone replacement therapy, vaginal pessaries or hysterectomy.