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LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION

Kugel Mesh Attorney: Clock Ticking on Filing Lawsuits

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Los Angeles, CAIf you believe you are one of the many patients affected by the Kugel Mesh hernia patch it is important that you speak to an attorney right away to discuss your legal options. Kate Gillespie, an attorney at Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, says that although it is not too late to take action regarding hernia repair patch complaints, the clock is ticking. She says it is also vital for patients to get the medical help they need so that they stand the best chance of recovery.

Kate Gillespie"It is important that, if patients understand that they have had hernia repair surgery and feel they are not getting the help they need from their doctors, they need to work to get themselves healthy, even if they have to find a new doctor," Gillespie says. "These problems are hard to diagnose: people can have a breakage, or have a patch malfunction, and doctors have a hard time diagnosing it for a variety of reasons. Reactions to the patch can manifest in many ways, including infections, bowel obstructions, constipation or diarrhea and various internal organ complications. People need to be aware of what is happening to their body. If something doesn't feel right, have it looked at. If they do not feel listened to by their practitioner, find a doctor who will listen.

"That said, not every hernia repair has gone bad. There is residual pain from a hernia repair--that's a given. However, if you have pain plus constant diarrhea, excessive seeping or constipation, that's when you know something funny is happening and you should seek additional medical care."

The sad truth about patients who have had a Composix Kugel Mesh patch malfunction is that they often become cut off from society. The injuries caused by a malfunctioning hernia repair patch are often thought of as undignified, which discourages people from wanting to discuss their situation or even go out in public.

"It is difficult to be forthright about injuries," Gillespie says. "In society we don't want to talk about being constipated or having diarrhea; we don't want to talk about open wounds that won't heal and are constantly seeping. These problems are caused by rejection or malfunction of the patch. When you have that going on in your lower abdominal area, that prevents you from living your life--if nothing else, out of embarrassment. That is the saddest thing about this situation. If you have a heart problem, you can feel free to talk about that openly, but with these Kugel Mesh injuries you can be made to feel isolated from society.

"Clients go in for something that was supposed to be a 'better than a routine hernia repair', done with laparoscopy, requiring smaller incisions and less recovery time. Then, it doesn't work out as planned; instead of a two-week recovery, 6 to 7 years down the road patients are still recovering and going through multiple surgeries trying to fix what was supposed to be so simple. They are unable to work, go out to dinner or go out to movie. They are pretty much chained to the home. Some of their infections are so bad that they can be smelled by other people. These are the unspoken injuries of these cases."

Many patients think that because their surgery happened a few years ago, there is no longer anything they can do to be compensated for what they have been through. Gillespie says that it is still important to talk to an attorney because there are a lot of elements that need to be considered before a claim is deemed stale.

"When you go into the surgery, you don't know what patch is being used--you aren't told that information," Gillespie says. "At the time when these patches were being used they were looked at as being the better patch. It's only in the last few years that it has come to light that the manufacturing processes and adverse event reporting by Bard/Davol were poor. Then there was the recall and 2 expansions of the recall. Importantly, the scope of the litigation is broader than the scope of the recall, for appropriate reasons. Just because the extra large or large patch was found by the FDA to be improperly manufactured does not mean that the other patches were properly manufactured or designed." There may be some legal remedies that are available that people have not thought of, so they should at least complete an interview with an attorney.

It is vital to note that just because it is not too late to take action does not mean that patients have extended time to speak to an attorney. In fact, the sooner they contact an attorney, the better.

"Once patients realize that they are having pain-plus [diarrhea, seeping wounds, constipation or other problems] and they had hernia repair surgery, that is when their clock could start ticking," Gillespie says. "If they are putting 2 and 2 together, they should contact an attorney. They need to at least do the interview to see if it is something that the attorney can work on. They should definitely seek out an attorney if they have spoken to a doctor who has said, 'Maybe it's the patch.'

"Once someone makes the connection of having had a hernia repair with remaining injuries, patients should contact an attorney. They can work together to discover which patch was implanted. We have several clients who were never told what patch they had implanted. We look at the injuries and the time period. We will do an extensive interview and get medical records.

"It is important for clients to try to get the exact date of their surgery. That helps us quite a bit. They should try to figure out who performed the surgery or the facility where the surgery was performed. Then we can get the specific records to get the necessary information to pursue their case."

Above all else, however, it is vital to keep the statute of limitations in mind. Anybody who is experiencing discomfort and understands that they have had a hernia repair surgery should contact an attorney as soon as possible. Although it is not too late to take action yet, time could run out.

READ ABOUT KUGEL MESH LAWSUITS

READER COMMENTS

Posted by

on
I had a Genoa operation in 1999 that one went great
But the second hernia repair surgery
In 09\20\2002 is killing me
Two days after the surgery I was in such pain
Went to DR it was infected the top out my stomach and all the puss came out
They put a drain line in and left the mess in
I had more medical problems
Septic shock

Posted by

on
This is hernia repair surgery # 3.

Posted by

on
had hernia repaired in 2010 they used a Davol mesh patch. The mesh lasted about 9 months I continue to have abdominal pain, urinary problems, Had to have replace on 11/2014. I need some one to represent myself.
Thank You

Posted by

on
I was originally injured in a training exercise in 1996 while on active duty in the US Air Force. It wasn't a major injury but required surgery. Surgical mesh was used in my repair. I immediately started having problems and six months later had a second surgery, both in military hospitals. Again more surgical mesh was used. After my medical discharge in 01, I still had major issues from pain to nerve damage. I had a third surgery in 02 by a civilian dr. He removed as much mesh as possible but was limited in how much. His post operation reports the obvious damage caused by the mesh and even refers to a previous botched surgery. I do have his records and since I have scars from both military operations, its not hard to prove. I reported this to veteran affairs and they ruled it was not service related. I requested my records in 2008 and they could not be found until two weeks ago. The weird part the majority of the records involving both operations were missing. Most importantly the post operation reports kept separately by military hospitals can not be located.I am not a go to lawyer type of person and I've been trying to resolve this on my own since 2001. When I received my records after 6 years of waiting, it just pushed me over the edge as a father of three that has been unemployable since 2004. I have reached out to anyone connected with veteran affairs and I just get pushed to another person over and over. I don't know if I can receive any help but I'm reaching out to anyone possible.

Posted by

on
2001 I had a hernia I still have a bulge

Posted by

on
had hernia operation on 2002 and have a big bulge on my stomach very tender area and painfull

Posted by

on
had mesh surgery in 2002. it failed and I redid the surgery in 2009. Is this to late to deal with?

my 2009 surgery delt with first ones failure.

Posted by

on
I had a triple hernia repair surgery in 2001 with mesh.
I've had stomach problems for the past year.
Went to doctor in Jan 1014 with what I thought was just a new hernia
had a complex hernia repair March 20 2014 and a phase 2 surgery March 24, 2014. My colon and bladder were adhered to the mesh and my bladder was folded over my pelvis bone.
mesh had not held anything.

2001 surgery was performed in Denver, CO at St. Anthonys hospital
2014 surgery was performed in Ogallala, NE community hospital

Posted by

on
I had my second hernia surgery I believe in 2008 at Wise Regional Medical Center in Decatur, Tx. I was told that there were 8 holes found in my abdominal wall, so mesh patch was used to cover ALL at once. November 2010, a experienced severe pain and noticed a bulge on my abdomen. I let doctors know and was told to not lift any heavy objects and that the mesh was okay. November 2013, once again..more discomfort and pain led doctors at the emergency room of MCG in Augusta, Ga. to conclude that there were two holes in the mesh and the hernia is squeezing between the mesh and me abdominal wall, but since i have an outstanding bill....i cannot even been seen for consultation at the surgery center. This is really an inconvenience and a great disturbance in my job.

Posted by

on
I had hernia mesh in me and got it removed on 3-7-2014 and that is when I found out that it was recalled and the mesh product Eshicon Proceed Mesh and if you are interested in taking my case please give me a call at 812-967-8158

Posted by

on
I'm looking for a attorney to take my case. I have already had one surgery do to the mesh and still have some mesh left in my abdomen
..

Posted by

on
I had mesh placed in me during a surgery in 2001.
I am so thankful attorneys advertised on television looking for people who had mesh placed as part of their surgeries and have pain or complications; otherwise I would not have known that the mesh could be my problem that it goes bad, and it can be taken out.
Up to that moment, I believed my ongoing health issues and pain were caused by the initial surgery, a bad doctor and have been experiencing no way to appropriately deal with the complications because I did not know the correct cause of them.
After researching online under “mesh and symptoms,” I was enlightened to the extended world that is having the same symptoms created from complications due to mesh that I have been experiencing since 2001 surgery.

I have had two neuro surgeries to relieve the pain: 2005 & 2008 (this neurosurgeon verified a lump where the pain originated and said mesh could be but did not tell me mesh is problem and could be removed!) I have seen many doctors and none of the tell me to get mesh removed. I was told from the very beginning that the mesh could not be removed because it attaches to the tissue. I thought I was going to have to live the rest of my life with this mesh in me!
I now have an appointment with Dr. Shlomo Raz at UCLA in August to get the help I should have gotten years ago to get as much mesh as possible out. My symptoms are bi-lateral.

The mesh that was used:
Prolene Polypropylene Mesh Patch:
1. Ethicon – Prolene* Mesh
2. Bard - Monofilament Polypropylene

My symptoms pain symptoms are:
• Pelvic, abdominal, leg
• lower back pain
• pain on one side of the body
• Urinary Problems
• dyspareunia
• Neuropathic pain
• Lying on both sides, more on right
• sitting
• Inner thigh pain – from deep pelvic to knees
Symptoms to be verified:
• mesh erosion into the surrounding areas
• Mesh Hardening
• ***Mesh bunching up
• injury to Nearby Organs
The more I look back and analyze the progression of the pains, symptoms, and everything else, the more I realize this is finally the answer: it has been the mesh all along!!.
There is one more item I would like to include, as it is a big play in my history, if not the biggest:
Why don’t doctors do their job and suggest something they might suspect. It is criminal to think of all the doctors I have seen and none of them suggest the possibility of the mesh? They were and are letting me chalk this off to a bad doctor and therefore there is nothing to do for me? I am not done here. I will do this alone if I have to. What has been done to me is criminal and I am going to get my story out there now if it’s the last thing I do. That surgery ruined my life.
Please note the mesh used, those were two types used on Op Report. I have given you this much information up front to help you decide to call or not with both yours and my time in mind. Thank you.

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