Dr. John Morrison, Canada’s Hernia Society president, has expressed concerns over the country’s growing number of hernia mesh implants. The president expressed concern that surgical abdominal mesh is being used in almost all hernia repairs, with many products not receiving proper clinical trials or research before entering the market.
Canadian patients have filed hernia mesh lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, the maker of the recalled Physiomesh product.
Reports from CTV News find that some patients had surgery to determine the cause of unexplained pain, only to find that the hernia mesh procedure failed, with one patient having the mesh rolled up inside the torso.
Health Canada finds that 12 hernia mesh products have been recalled since 2000 in Canada’s market. Patients suffered from infections and perforations, with three deaths and 185 reports of serious injury due to the hernia mesh products.
Dr. Morrison states that sometimes hernia mesh isn’t medically required but is still used. His practice includes removing mesh products that have shifted inside the patient’s body and often pierce their organs.
Morrison states that 20% of people with hernia mesh procedures are left in chronic pain afterward. He suggests that patients with pain for over three months should find a hernia surgeon to correct the issue.
He foresees the issue only getting worse as more and more patients are being treated using the surgical mesh procedures despite the massive recalls and warnings against the products.
Thousands of Canadians have hernia surgery yearly, with a growing number of complaints resulting from surgical mesh complications. Morrison suggests that people undergoing hernia surgery ask their doctors if surgical mesh will be used and research their options for the type of hernia they’re diagnosed with.
In the class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, the mesh is made by the company’s subsidiary Ethicon, which alleges that the company’s surgical mesh caused higher than average reoperation and recurrence rates in the patients that had surgery to implant the mesh product.
The group behind the lawsuit believes that the product is linked to their chronic health and pain problems. Plaintiffs allege that the surgical mesh had a design defect that caused the mesh to migrate, tear or contract while in the body.
