stress urinary incontinence 150 articles

Two women were told they could no longer have sexual intercourse with their partners after suffering complications related to their transvaginal mesh. “We’ve not got a sex life. It’s actually taken a toll on my marriage,” Linda, whose name was changed, told BBC. “I don’t even go to the doctor. I don’t even bother.” Both women were implanted with transvaginal mesh, a type of surgical mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, common conditions that affect women due to childbirth, age or weight gain. Both women say they were injured by the devices and live in ... Read More

Nearly 400 Australian women have filed transvaginal mesh injury lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson in what may be the biggest product liability class action lawsuit in Australian history. The women claim the company’s surgical mesh product used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence caused them to suffer chronic or life threatening injuries. Trish Sara joined the lawsuit after suffering complications leading to multiple surgeries during which she had to have part of her bowel removed. She was implanted with a bladder sling in 2008, confident that it would remedy her embarrassing urinary incontinence. However, from the moment ... Read More

“I get stabbed a thousand times a day,” Frances Shulte told The Gazette. The constant pain prevents the Coralville, Iowa, resident from comfortably moving around or going to the bathroom. She never dreamed that the surgery to correct a pelvic floor disorder would cause her chronic pain and disability. “People don’t understand that I’m in pain every day,” she said. Frances’ ordeal began in 2005, when she had surgery to correct her stress urinary incontinence. Doctors inserted a type of surgical mesh, also known as transvaginal mesh or a bladder sling, into her body to hold up organs that had ... Read More

A U.S. judge has found that Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon unit destroyed company documents about some of its transvaginal mesh implants ahead of its Feb. 10 trial in which the health care conglomerate is defending itself against thousands of personal-injury lawsuits. U.S. magistrate judge Cheryl Eifert concluded that Ethicon destroyed thousands of computer files and other documents pertaining to its Gynecare Prolift and TVT Retropublic mesh devices, which thousands of women blame for excruciating internal injuries. Because the company acted improperly, juries may be allowed to hear and weigh evidence about the alleged document dumping, Judge Eifert said. ... Read More

Johnson & Johnson is asking a West Virginia federal judge not to allow the plaintiff in an upcoming bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation over injuries caused by its transvaginal mesh to tell jurors that the company failed to preserve evidence. Johnson & Johnson claims the issue is no longer relevant to the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert found the consumer health care giant had lost potential evidence in the case and suggested that jurors may need to hear about circumstances such as when a plaintiff’s physician relied on evidence provided by a sales representative whose records were destroyed. The ... Read More

A new documentary film currently in production will feature a number of women from the U.S., Canada, and other countries whose bodies, and subsequently their lives, were devastated after being implanted with transvaginal mesh products designed to correct pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and other conditions affecting the position of the pelvic organs. The documentary, called Enmeshed, is a collaboration between Philip Courter of Courter Films and Jane Akre, editor of the Mesh Medical Device News Desk, a watchdog group that monitors the medical mesh industry and the ways in which transvaginal mesh devices, hernia patches, and other polypropylene mesh ... Read More

Medical devices, prescription drugs, and even consumer products offer unique benefits to women. But sometimes they can cause unexpected harm. Here are some products that women should use with caution: 1. Talcum powder – It might sound far-fetched, but women who apply baby powder or body powder regularly to their genitals are a third more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who do not use the product. Talcum powder, derived from talc, contains various elements, including asbestos, which is a known carcinogen. Researchers say the powder when applied to the genitals can travel up the vagina through the uterus ... Read More

Medical devices are vitally important to the industry. They vary in complexity and application, from tongue depressors and disposable gloves to implants and prostheses. Because they are used to diagnose, prevent or treat disease or other conditions, these items are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure their safety and efficacy. However, this does not guarantee the devices don’t have hidden design flaws that can cause serious health risks. Here are three commonly used medical devices that were designed to help people, but ultimately caused more harm that good: 1. Transvaginal mesh – Also known as vaginal ... Read More

A federal judge has ruled that medical device manufacturer C.R. Bard cannot exclude from a bellwether trial against the company internal memos written by an employee warning that transvaginal mesh products have been associated with serious adverse effects and should be redesigned. The lawsuit was filed by Carolyn Jones, who alleges that Bard’s Avaulta vaginal mesh, also known as a bladder sling, used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, was poorly designed and caused her to suffer serious injuries. U.S. District Judge Joseph Godwin denied Bard’s request to exclude internal memos from its employee Bobby Orr, then-head of ... Read More

Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon mishandled documents related to its transvaginal mesh devices and should be barred from seeking to throw out lawsuits or using some defense tactics, say attorneys for women who filed lawsuits against the companies. Johnson & Johnson’s unit Ethicon makes the Gynecare Prolift implant, a transvaginal mesh device used to treat pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. The devices are inserted through the vagina to hold up organs that have dropped for various reasons, usually from childbirth, obesity or age. The devices have been associated with serious complications including ... Read More