Chamber and committees

Marian Kenny submission of 26 July 2021

PE1865/ZZ - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices

When I was 45 I had just qualified as a nurse and after only 18 months got my dream job as a community psychiatric nurse. I was finally feeling that my life was going in a direction I was very happy to take. But I had an issue that I had been seeing a urologist for. I had stress incontinence. I had put off surgery (Burch colposuspension) as I wanted to complete my training. After qualifying I saw the consultant again and told him I was ready for surgery. My investigations (particularly cystoscopy) was cancelled on numerous occasions, but eventually I was placed on the list for surgery. At one of my outpatient appointments the surgeon told me I could have this new surgery which would involve less time in hospital and more especially less time off work. He told me as it was a relatively new procedure there wasn’t much data relating to efficacy beyond five years. The only risk explained to me was that of the possibility of the mesh being too tight, and that if that were the case they would snip it. Other than reminding me of the usual risks of any surgery nothing else was mentioned re risk.

After many cancellations I finally had it done.

When I awoke from surgery I couldn’t close my legs. It felt as though they didn’t belong to me and I had no power in them. The nurse had to close them for me. As the day wore on and the next morning came I was able to go home, walking with the help of a family member.

I was only supposed to be off work for a couple of days but was much too sore and so was off for a number of weeks to recover.

Over the next few years I began to suffer with pains in my legs and hips, and with odd symptoms like stabbing and shooting pains in my vagina and back passage. These pains were excruciating and happened at any time, when shopping or visiting patients, and also when trying to be intimate.

I experienced recurrent UTIs which caused me to be off sick a lot.

I saw my GP who referred me back to urology, who determined the “tape” was fine.

My hip pain continued, I had an X-ray which determined my hips were not a problem.

This went on for many years and I had no explanation for the pain I was experiencing. No doctor was listening to me which left me feeling disbelieved.

I finally saw an article in a newspaper and I saw myself in the stories recorded.

I went to see a different urologist and I requested removal.

Eventually my “tape” was “removed” and I was told by my surgeon it was all removed except for “a couple of mm either side”

I initially felt a little better but before too long the pain I had on my right side was now replicated in the left. My mobility got increasingly worse.

I never returned to my job that I loved, to my career I had worked hard for. My contract was terminated due to ill health. I was sacked by the NHS due to a procedure the NHS had carried out. I was devastated. My life had (and continues to be) changed beyond recognition.

I need a wheelchair for anything more than a few feet.

All of these repercussions are bad enough, but when I requested the photographs of my surgery I found that instead of a “tiny few mm” remaining, it was only around 4cm that had actually been removed. I discovered the surgeon who I had trusted had lied.

I now suffer from various autoimmune symptoms which I’m sure are due to the remainder of the toxic mesh (yes tape is made of mesh, polypropylene mesh, plastic mesh which should never be in a human body) left inside my body to continue to degrade and possibly migrate to other areas of my body.

I have been retired now for 5 years. If I hadn’t had this surgery I would have worked for another 11 years. I am 62 years old and I’m not being dramatic when I say my life as a granny, wife, mother has been decimated. All of my relationships have been affected negatively. I can’t have sex.

The pelvic mesh petition PE1517 heard my voice, and that of many others, now we need a new petition to cover ALL mesh implants made of materials which damage us and that is why I support fully PE1865 Suspend Surgical Mesh and fixation Devices.