Health Minister Simon Harris has requested that his Chief Medical Officer investigate the use of vaginal mesh devices, less than a month after TheJournal.ie reported that a number of women who have vaginal mesh say they experience great pain.
These devices are used to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Often these complications arise after childbirth.
If a woman needs this device, the plastic vaginal mesh is blindly implanted in the vagina or the vaginal wall using hooks. The mesh is then left there to support the uterus.
One of women that TheJournal.ie spoke to, Janet Roche, had the device inserted seven years ago to deal with her stress incontinence. She said she was not told about the possible complications of the surgery.
She has been in pain for those seven years, and it was not until recently that a consultant told her why: the mesh had travelled to her urethra. While she has had the mesh partially removed, the 48-year-old mum was told she will suffer from chronic pain for the rest of her life.
Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly brought this issue to the attention of the Health Minister today and asked him how he proposed to solve the problem of vaginal mesh and its long-term consequences. O'Reilly noted that some of the women she'd spoken to said they are in 'constant pain'.
Simon Harris said that while he knew of the harrowing experiences of these women, he also is ‘not aware of any scientific evidence’ that vaginal mesh is dangerous when used properly, TheJournal.ie reported.
He also added that no medical or surgical procedure is completely risk-free.
However, the Minister has asked that his Chief Medical Officer look further into the use of vaginal mesh and whether it is truly safe. It is expected that this report will take several months.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) have asked that anyone who has experienced pain or discomfort due to vaginal mesh contact them here.
The HPRA have said in the past that they do not specifically collect data on how many patients have had mesh procedure.
O’Reilly expressed her concerns about this, saying that if this were a men’s health issue ‘I do not think that we would be having this conversation’.
