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THE HSE HAS told doctors that women who are due to undergo vaginal mesh procedures should be informed of the possible severe complications like longterm pain and erosion of the device into the bladder.
A learning notice was issued to hospitals on 26 June, following a meeting between Minister for Health Simon Harris and three women who have experienced complications from these surgeries.
One of the women who attended this meeting and who shared her experience with the minister, Lesley-Anne Stephens, told TheJournal.ie she was “pleasantly surprised” by how empathetic he and his officials were.
She was 36 when she had a procedure to address urinary stress incontinence. Now, at 39 she is in constant pain and has to use a walking stick for support.
“We were initially only given 30 minutes, so we had four minutes each to tell our stories but when we got in there he just told us we had as long as we needed, he was going to give us his time, so that was absolutely unbelievable,” she said of her meeting with Minister Harris. “They really listened to us, so we were extremely happy when we came out.”
Vaginal mesh devices are used in procedures to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse, conditions woman can suffer after childbirth.
There has been global scrutiny surrounding the devices because of serious complications suffered by some women and a partial ban on their use was issued in the UK at the end of last year. Campaigners in Ireland are pushing for a ban in this country until a full assessment of the risks and complications associated with the devices is carried out.
Lesley-Anne Stephens has had two partial removal operations in Ireland but she was still experiencing pain so she recently travelled to England for treatment by a specialist in this area, Dr Sohier Elneil. She performed a full removal but also had to perform a urethroplasty and a full vaginal reconstruction.
“I was damaged so badly from the mesh that she had to just fully reconstruct me inside. Those are separate operations for most people. She couldn’t tell me for sure whether it was all gone or not, she was extremely honest with me – because it was broken into tiny fragments inside my body she couldn’t be sure. There was a piece of it stuck into a lump of my muscle, she said it was like taking hair out of chewing gum.”
‘The ability to treat complications’
The notice issued to Irish doctors last month stated that controversy about the use of mesh devices “is not unique to Ireland”. It advised doctors that mesh procedures for stress incontinence should be reserved for patients who have been assessed in an appropriate uro-gynaecological/urological setting and in whom conservative measures have failed.
“Surgeons must ensure they have appropriate facilities and training plus the ability to either treat the patients who develop complications themselves or an approved, appropriate pathway to refer on to another,” it stated.
The notice also addressed the procedure for telling patients about possible complications, including the “uncommon complications” such as erosion into the bladder and longterm pain.
It noted that the NHS has a 16-page leaflet on these procedures and said a national consent form is now being prepared by the HSE. The Chief Medical Officer is also preparing a report on these devices for the minister.
In the meantime, doctors have been told to make patients aware that complications may necessitate the removal of the device and that this may be “extremely difficult”.
This is because the mesh device is designed to allow tissue to grow in and around it, so it can act as a supporting wall for nearby muscle or organs.
‘I cried all the way home’
Seven weeks on from her major surgery, Lesley-Ann Stephens is finding her recovery slow and difficult. And she is disappointed that she had to travel to another country – and pay €15,000 – to have a device that was inserted under the public health system here removed.
“You should not be able to have something in this country put in and then not have anyone here who can remove it.
At the airport on the way back, they pulled me aside because I beeped in security so I gave them the discharge letter from the hospital – they gave me this letter to give to the airport security. They said they couldn’t accept it, so they took me into a room and I had to strip off all my clothes and let them see the catheter up inside me. If I’d had any dignity left at that stage it would have been out the window.
Her flight home with her husband Darren was then delayed.
“When I got in the car at Dublin Airport I just cried, and I cried all the way home. I think it’s disgusting for any woman to have to go through that in this day and age. We surely mean more to people than that.”
The 39-year-old said she does not know if she will ever make a full recovery.
“I’m in a different state of mind now, I feel like I just have to accept what’s happened to me. But what this has done to my family and other people’s families is disgusting. I’m not fighting for myself anymore, this isn’t about me, I want it stopped so that no one else has to go through this.”
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Half a billion for than 20 miles of road.
This is HALF of what it costs in urban areas of the US. Half.
Just plain mismanagement and probably corruption.
We Irish can’t do big projects.
@Chris O’Brien: was thinking the same,but also 200 million in 21,and now 450 million 2 years later
@Chris O’Brien: So it costs 1 billion in the US??
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: Didn’t spot that, nice one.
@Chris O’Brien: what corruption are you talking about??
@Liam23: The corruption in his head.
@Chris O’Brien: great country:) Al Capone was less of a gangster than the shower running this country he’d be amazed he was a joke next to them
Single carriageway roadway….Wow let’s celebrate like its the 1930s. Perfect proactive solution not to include passing lanes on new construction. Car with trailer max speed 80km; car behind it max speed 100 with no safe area to pass, what could go wrong? Solution they come up with rather than acknowledge their failure is to reduce speed limits to 80 for all. Simple decisions designed by simple minds.
@Irish Conservative: Completely new road and area relatively flat so road should be straight enough, similar to Ballagh/Charlestown bypass. Overtaking slower traffic should not be a problem with a bit of common sense.
@Bert Carolan: It is usually the volume of on coming traffic that creates the problem for passing. Single carriageway roads are Seven times (7x) more dangerous compared to dual lanes per Road Safety Foundation. Building passing lanes to alleviate congestion safely is common sense.
@Irish Conservative: If your stats are correct then fair point, though I do think we have a tendancy in this country to blame roads and speed limits for accidents rather than driver behaviour.
They should continue the M4 all the way to all the way to Sligo and be done with it. Small-minded thinking again, like we don’t want any of those 10-story skyscrapers in Dublin.
God they were depressing towns to go through…all the same I’ll miss them..
@hi from heaven: Strokestown not bad. I won’t miss the stretch of road, you could be stuck behind a truck for miles.
Take a detour through Clondra and it’s 3 bridges sometime just to see what the main road used to be like.
@hi from heaven: well I won’t miss them, has to be the worst stretch of road in the country
@Bert Carolan: Took a trip just now, thanks Google Streetview and oh my! It was barely designed for an ass and cart!
13.2 million a kilometer…. Is it the heated road or something.
@JJ Dolan: in fairness there will be no bends in it. Straight as f%ck, like whoever builds it.
Watch whoever gets the contract milk the taxpayers like a prize cow. I’ll bet the same road could be built abroad for a fraction of that cost. We have a reputation as being prime for riding when it comes to construction, we just bend over every time
More than doubled in price! Will probably cost €600 million. The country is run by buffoons!
@Fred Coloe: not fair on buffoons
@Fred Coloe:
True but then the guy who but I the bid of €200 million went bust……
I’d be more concerned that the contract is a bit more water tight than the children’s hospital one.
It didn’t really double in price… same as the childrens hospital, they low ball and then add on extras..
Only difference is road bridge bluff was called on a couple of projects that they had done previously and hence went bust..
@hi from heaven:
Bullseye
€450m…..So the final cost will be closer to €600m
Something wrong with the costings here for a Single Carriage Way Road, the new 30 Klm A6 Derry to Dungiven Dual Carriage Way has just been completed at a total cost of £250 Million Stg, which is a lot cheaper per Klm than it is in the South.
It would be nice to get a breakdown on where the money goes. How much to planners, how much to engineers, ect
Will have to make Strokestown detour for chips in Antonelli’s …
Taking the aul roads in I see
The money was all spent on archaeologists, ecologists, planners and lawyers – the “make work” crowd. People need to remember that money spent by the government goes somewhere – it doesn’t just go into a black hole – it goes towards paying labourers, digger drivers, quarries, tarmac contractors, plant hire companies, engineers, fuel suppliers, mechanics and a lot of the local shops will see a lot more trade during construction. SO this money goes into the economy – OUR economy, it helps stimulate economic growth, it helps people put food on the table and pay their mortgages, it provides employment in an area of the country that has suffered underinvestment for generations. It’s about time the NW got some of what Munster & Leinster have – capital expenditure and investment.
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