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Bladder Sling Lawsuits

Bladder slings, also known as bladder tacks, bladder tape, TVTs, or TOTs, are strips of synthetic mesh implanted to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI). TVT refers to transvaginal tape and TOT refers to transobturator tape, both may be composed of synthetic mesh materials.  Synthetic mesh slings made from polypropylene have had serious complications reported in some women. Litigation over the past decade has resulted in billions of dollars in jury verdicts and settlements for women injured by mesh implants.

Complications Reported

In 2019, the FDA stopped the sale of some types of pelvic mesh products to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP). However, many manufacturers still sell bladder slings and other Transvaginal Mesh products to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women.  Complaints associated with transvaginal mesh devices include:

  • chronic pelvic pain
  • urinary problems and/or incontinence
  • pain during sexual intercourse
  • recurrence of prolapsed bladder or uterus
  • infection and abscess
  • aching, burning or stabbing pain in the pudendal nerve area
  • pelvic bleeding

These symptoms have been linked to complications of the mesh, including:

  • bowel, bladder, and blood vessel perforation
  • pelvic floor damage
  • pudendal nerve damage
  • mesh erosion or extrusion through the vaginal tissue
  • mesh contracture or shrinkage
  • chronic inflammation
  • fistula creation
  • internal scar tissue formation

Treatment of complications includes additional surgical procedures to revise or remove the mesh, blood transfusions, drainage of hematomas and abscesses from infection, medication, pain injections, Botox injections, electrode therapy, physical pelvic therapy, among other treatments to alleviate the complications.

Bladder Sling Products

Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon
Ethicon TVT
Gynecare TVT
Exact TVT
Abbrevo TVT
Secur

American Medical Systems or AMS (acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals)
SPARC®
Mini-Arc
Monarc

Boston Scientific
Advantage™ Mid-Urethral Sling System
Prefyx Mid U™ Mesh Sling System
Prefyx PPS™ System
Obtryx® Transobturator Mid-Urethral Sling System
Advantage Transvaginal Mid-Urethral Sling System

Coloplast

Aris and Altis

 What Is Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)?

Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) or bladder control loss, can range from mild leakage to uncontrollable
urine loss. Causes include: childbirth, aging, obesity, surgery involving the bladder or vagina in women,
medications, diabetes, neurologic conditions, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and spinal cord
injury and other reasons.
Diagnosing urinary incontinence tests might include: Urinalysis, bladder function tests, cystoscopy,
cystogram, x-rays using dye to reveal urinary tract problems and ultrasound.
Urinary incontinence treatment may include: Botox injections, pessaries, pelvic floor physical therapy,
medications, urethral bulking agent to reduce the opening of the urethra to prevent urine leakage, surgical
sling procedure using body tissue or synthetic material to create a “sling or hammock” to keep the urethra
closed and prevent urine leakage.
Surgical sling procedure: the surgeon uses strips of synthetic mesh, your own tissue, or sometimes animal or
donor tissue to create a sling or "hammock" under the tube that carries urine from the bladder (urethra) or the
area of thickened muscle where the bladder connects to the urethra (bladder neck). The sling supports the
urethra and helps keep it closed so that you don't leak urine.
Tension-free sling – No stitches are used to attach the tension-free sling, which is made from a strip of
synthetic mesh tape. Instead, body tissue holds the sling in place. Eventually scar tissue forms in and around
the mesh to keep it from moving. For a tension-free sling procedure, the surgeon may use one of three
approaches:
Retropubic. A small incision inside the vagina just under the urethra is made. with two small
openings above the pubic bone. The surgeon uses a needle to pass the sling under the urethra and up
behind the pubic bone. Absorbable stitches close the vaginal incision, and the needle sites may be
sealed with glue or stitches.
Transobturator. A small incision inside the vagina just under the urethra is made, with a small
opening on each side of the labia. The sling passes a different pathway from the retropubic approach, but it is still placed under the urethra. Absorbable stitches close the vaginal incision and the needle site
with glue or stitches.
Single-incision mini. One small incision in the vagina is made. The surgeon places the sling similar to
the retropubic and transobturator approaches. No other incisions or needle sites are needed.
Conventional Sling. An incision in the vagina is made and a sling made of synthetic mesh tape is placed
under the neck of the bladder. Through another incision in the abdomen, the surgeon pulls the sling to achieve
the right amount of tension and attaches each end of the sling to pelvic tissue or the abdominal wall using
stitches.
Serious complications occur in some women, including erosion of the material, infection, organ perforation,
pudendal neuralgia and other injuries causing pain and suffering. We are not medical professionals examining
your body. Therefore, we recommend that you contact your health care provider, conduct your own research
and due diligence.

Contact Us Now

For legal questions, call us at 1-800-814-4540 or email us at carolyn@carolynstclair.com if you have been injured by a bladder sling surgery. Our consultations are free and confidential. There are time limits in each state and hospitals destroy medical records after a certain time frame, so contact us now to preserve your rights.

 Sling procedures

Several types of operative techniques and approaches are noted in the medical records for sling procedures, including:

  • Tension-free sling
  • Retropubic sling
  • Transobturator sling
  • Single-incision mini sling
  • Conventional sling

We can obtain and review medical records to determine the type of bladder sling procedure performed. For further in depth information, click the video link to review medical legal animation in the podcast: Failed Transvaginal Mesh Injury Lawsuit Podcast.

Pelvic Mesh Ordered Off the Market

On April 16, 2019, the FDA ordered the manufacturers of certain pelvic synthetic surgical mesh products to stop selling and distributing their products in the United States.   Additional information for patients and health care providers about the use of surgical mesh for transvaginal pelvic organ prolapse is provided in the links. Types of pelvic mesh products implanted and may still be on the market include:

Ethicon TVT Gynecare Mesh

  • Prolift
  • Prolift +M
  • Gynemesh/Gynemesh PS
  • Prosima
  • TVT
  • TVT-Obturator (TVT-O)
  • TVT-SECUR (TVT-S)
  • TVT-Exact
  • TVT-Abbrevo

C. R. Bard

  • Align
  • Avaulta Plus™ BioSynthetic Support System
  • Avaulta Solo™ Synthetic Support System
  • Faslata® Allograft
  • Pelvicol® Tissue
  • PelviSoft® Biomesh
  • Pelvitex™ Polypropylene Mesh
  • PelviLace
  • InnerLace
  • Uretex

American Medical Systems 

  • SPARC®
  • Mini-Arc
  • Apogee
  • Elevate
  • Monarc
  • In-Fast
  • BioArc

Boston Scientific

  • Obtryx® Curved Single
  • Obtryx® Mesh Sling
  • Obtryx Transobturator Mid-Urethral Sling System
  • Prefyx Mid U™ Mesh Sling System
  • Prefyx PPS™ System
  • Uphold Vaginal Support System
  • Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit
  • Advantage Transvaginal Mid-Urethral Sling System
  • Advantage Fit System
  • Solyx SIS System

Coloplast

  • T-Sling-Universal Polypropylene Sling
  • Aris-Transobturator Sling System
  • Supris-Suprapubic Sling System
  • Novasilk-Synthetic Flat Mesh
  • Suspend-Tutoplast Processed Fascia Lata
  • Exair-Prolapse Repair System
  • Axis-Tutoplast Processed Dermis
  • Restorelle
  • Smartmesh
  • Omnisure
  • Minitape

Cook 

  • Surgisis

Neomedic

TVM Verdicts and Settlements

Verdicts, settlements, manufacturers, products, and jurisdictions over the past decade follow:

  1. 6/19: $500,000 – Dunfee v. Ethicon/JJ (Prolift) PA
  2. 5/19: $80+ million – Mesigian v. Ethicon/JJ PA
  3. 4/19: $120 million – McFarland v. Ethicon/JJ (TVT-O) PA
  4. 1/19: $41 million – Emmett v. Ethicon/JJ (Prolift & TVT-O) PA
  5. 4/18: $68 million – McGinnis v. Bard (Solo & Align)  NJ
  6. 3/18: $35 million – Kaiser v. Ethicon/JJ (Prolift) IN
  7. 9/17: $57.1 million – Ebaugh v. Ethicon/JJ (TVT Secur) PA
  8. 5/17: $2.16 million – Betz v. Ethicon (Prolift)  PA
  9. 4/17: $20.0 million – Engleman v. Ethicon/JJ (TVT Secur) – PA
  10. 2/16: $13.5 – Carlino v. Ethicon/JJ (TVT)  PA
  11. 2/16: $0 – Sherrer v. Boston Scientific (Solyx & Bard Align) MO
  12. 12/15: $12.5 million – Hammons v. Ethicon/JJ (Prolift) PA
  13. 10/15: $0 – Martha Carlson v. Boston Scientific (Uphold) NC
  14. 10/15: $0 – Carol Cavness v. Ethicon/JJ (Prosima) TX
  15. 5/15: $100 million – Deborah Barda v. BSC (Pinnacle, Advantage Fit) DL
  16. 3/15: $5.7 million – Coleen Perry – Ethicon/JJ (Abbrevo) CA
  17. 5/15: Settled – Sanchez v. Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) CA
  18. 3/15: Settled  – Bellew v. Ethicon (Prolift) MDL
  19. 2/15: Settled – Wise v. Bard (Avaulta, Avaulta Plus) MDL
  20. 11/14: $6.7+ million – Amal Eghnayem – Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) MDL FL
  21. 11/14: $6.7+ million – Margarita Dotres – Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) MDL FL
  22. 11/14: $6.7+ million – Mania Nunez – Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) MDL FL
  23. 11/14: $6.5+ million – Juana Betancourt – Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) MDL FL
  24. 11/14: $5.25 million – Jeanie Blankenship – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) MDL
  25. 11/14: $4.75 million – Chris Wilson – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) MDL
  26. 11/14: $4.25 million – Carol Campbell – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) MDL
  27. 11/14: $4.25 million – Jacquelyn Tyree – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) MDL
  28. 9/14: $73.465 million – Martha Salazar – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) TX
  29. 9/14: $3.27 million – Jo Huskey – Ethicon/JJ (TVT-O) MDL WV
  30. 8/14: $0 – Maria Cardenas – Boston Scientific (Obtryx) MA
  31. 7/14: $0 – Diane Albright – Boston Scientific (Pinnacle) MA
  32. 4/14: $1.2 million – Linda Batiste – Ethicon/JJ (TVT-O) TX
  33. 2/14: $0 – Carolyn Lewis – Ethicon/JJ (TVT-O) MDL
  34. 8/13: $2 million – Donna Cisson – C.R. Bard (Avaulta) MDL
  35. 2/13: $11.11 million – Linda Gross – Ethicon/JJ (Prolift) NJ
  36. 7/12: $5.5 million – Christine Scott – C.R. Bard (Avaulta Plus) CA

Multi District Litigation

The multi district litigation (MDL) courts have been dismantled as of 2018. Cases are now being filed in individual courts across the nation.  These MDL courts are closed to new cases:

MDL No. 2327 | In Re Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2325 | In Re American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation – Settlement announced for all remaining mesh lawsuits in the MDL.

MDL No. 2187 | In Re C. R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2326 | In Re Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2440 | In Re Cook Medical, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2387 | In Re Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2511 | In Re Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

Contact Us Now

Call us at 1-800-814-4540 or email carolyn@carolynstclair.com if you have had injuries from your bladder sling surgery. Our consultations are free and confidential. There are time limits in each state and hospitals destroy medical records after a certain time frame, so contact us now to preserve your rights.

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