Opelika, ALBonnie’s doctor talked her into getting a transvaginal mesh sling implant for a prolapsed (fallen) bladder, which was causing urine leakage and incomplete emptying of the bladder. That was almost a year ago, and Bonnie has been in agony ever since. And she can’t get any help from her doctors.
“When my doctor saw that my bladder had fallen, he advised me to get this transvaginal mesh sling,” says Bonnie. “I told him that I heard bad things about this mesh but he said the TVT sling he would use wasn’t the same thing. He further said that one company, Johnson & Johnson, had made some bad mesh but this was going to be fine and I shouldn’t pay any attention to all the negative talk about this TVM.”
Still, Bonnie was very nervous about getting the transvaginal mesh, “But something had to be done,” she says. Now she wishes nothing was done. Right after the surgery she had a rough time, a lot worse than she thought it would be.
“I had to wear a catheter and then self-catheterize at home,” Bonnie explains. “And I had to see my doctor almost every day with one infection after another. After the surgery I was in so much pain it was unreal. I was out of work for about three months and used up all my sick days and vacation days.
“My doctor said, ‘If I knew you were going to have so many problems, I would never have done this surgery on you.’ Talk about bedside manner! I think he knows something is wrong. I know this tape has broken and I told him as much, but he won’t acknowledge that anything is wrong.”
Bonnie works at the hospital where she had the TVM procedure so she pulled her medical file. Her doctor had noted on her chart after her last pelvic exam, ‘Anterior and exterior repairs needed.’ She has no idea why he won’t tell her as much, except that perhaps he is concerned about a medical malpractice lawsuit.
“I saw another doctor and told him I was really hurting,” Bonnie says. “He was going to consult with the doctor who put in the TVM sling, and I had an ultrasound. About two weeks later, he finally called and said I had to come back in the office for another urine test. The ultrasound showed a cyst on my ovary and the mesh was apparently ‘fine’ but I know it isn’t fine. I know it has broken and my bladder is bulging out again when I go to the bathroom or stand on my feet.
“And the pain is getting worse: Now it feels like a knife is stabbing in the lower part of my abdomen. When I first got this sling, I could actually feel two little knots in my pelvis - where the TVT sling was attached - and I think it was the mesh. Now I can only feel one knot and it has moved way down into my pubic area.
“You don’t even know the worst part. On more than one occasion, I had to stay in the bathroom at work and call my husband on my cell to bring me a change of clothes because I have no control over my bladder, none. When I put my feet on the floor it starts like a fire hydrant, it just floods. And I am up and down all night. I can wear the thickest pad and it won’t hold; I never know when it is going to happen. It has really put a damper on my life to say the least; I cannot go anywhere. To make matters even worse, (if that is even possible) I have no feeling down there - all since this mesh was put in.
“I have no answers and no solution. My doctors won’t do anything, so my last hope is to get a referral to an ob/gyn here at the hospital so I might try to call him. Actually, my very last hope is that transvaginal mesh attorneys will do something.”
This supposedly “simple” procedure has turned Bonnie’s life upside down. Meanwhile, she is going to check her medical records again to determine the transvaginal mesh manufacturer. The first transvaginal mesh personal injury lawsuit against C.R. Bard and its Avaulta product awarded plaintiff Donna Cisson $2M in damages, so Bonnie is doing her best to remain hopeful.
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