A standard procedure to treat problems caused by childbirth leads to complications more often than officially admitted, doctors have warned.
Senior doctors have called for a public inquiry into the use of vaginal mesh surgery in Britain, saying it could be akin to the thalidomide scandal.
The procedure uses a piece of plastic mesh, inserted into the vagina, to support the bladder, womb or bowel. According to figures reported in The Guardian, more than 126,000 women in England were treated between 2007 and lasst year. A significant number of women suffer traumatic complications, campaigners say.
Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford, told a meeting in parliament: “With thalidomide you could see the visual representation. [With mesh] you can’t see it.”
Sohier Elneil, a consultant urogynaecologist at University College Hospital, London, said unpublished research by her team suggested that such surgery had a readmission rate of 8.9 per cent.
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The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has suggested a rate of between 1 or 2 per cent of pain or erosion after mesh procedures to treat incontinence.
The meeting was organised by Owen Smith, the Labour MP for Pontypridd, and Sling the Mesh, a group that wants the procedure banned. It heard from women who said they had been left suicidal by complications, and complained of “cheese wire” pain, loss of their sex life, and the removal of organs.
The MHRA said evidence suggested that the devices were safe “if used as intended”, adding: “We are committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients.”