The risks of placing mesh through the vagina to repair pelvic organ prolapse may outweigh its benefits, according to the FDA.
Risks include mesh protruding out of the vaginal tissue (erosion), pain, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse, organ perforation from tools used in the mesh placement, and urinary problems. Additional surgeries and/or hospitalization may be needed to treat the complications or remove the mesh.
During pelvic organ prolapse, the internal structures that support the pelvic organs such as the bladder, uterus, and bowel drop from their normal position and "prolapse" into the vagina. Pelvic organ prolapse surgery can also be performed through the abdomen or vagina with stitches or surgical mesh to reinforce the repair and correct the anatomy. Surgical mesh is also widely used in hernia repairs and to treat stress incontinence.
In 2010, there were at least 100,000 pelvic organ prolapse repairs that used surgical mesh, and about 75,000 of these were transvaginal. These are the only procedures that the new FDA mesh warning applies to.
The FDA first issued a safety communication in 2008 after they received reports of adverse events associated with the transvaginal placement of mesh. Since then, the number of adverse events has increased, although they don't always differentiate between transvaginal and abdominal procedures. The group also reviewed the literature on the use of mesh for this procedure.
Now, the FDA will convene an outside panel of experts in obstetrics and gynecology to meet in September 2011 and discuss the safety and effectiveness of surgical mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Risks include mesh protruding out of the vaginal tissue (erosion), pain, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse, organ perforation from tools used in the mesh placement, and urinary problems. Additional surgeries and/or hospitalization may be needed to treat the complications or remove the mesh.
During pelvic organ prolapse, the internal structures that support the pelvic organs such as the bladder, uterus, and bowel drop from their normal position and "prolapse" into the vagina. Pelvic organ prolapse surgery can also be performed through the abdomen or vagina with stitches or surgical mesh to reinforce the repair and correct the anatomy. Surgical mesh is also widely used in hernia repairs and to treat stress incontinence.
In 2010, there were at least 100,000 pelvic organ prolapse repairs that used surgical mesh, and about 75,000 of these were transvaginal. These are the only procedures that the new FDA mesh warning applies to.
The FDA first issued a safety communication in 2008 after they received reports of adverse events associated with the transvaginal placement of mesh. Since then, the number of adverse events has increased, although they don't always differentiate between transvaginal and abdominal procedures. The group also reviewed the literature on the use of mesh for this procedure.
Now, the FDA will convene an outside panel of experts in obstetrics and gynecology to meet in September 2011 and discuss the safety and effectiveness of surgical mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.
FDA: Risks Outweigh Benefits
"We do not see conclusive evidence that using mesh for the transvaginal approach to pelvic organ prolapse improves clinical outcomes anymore than transvaginal procedures that do not use mesh," says William Maisel, MD, the deputy center director for science at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health in Silver Spring, Md. "These devices appear to expose patients to greater risks."ORIGINAL ARTICLE
1 comment:
Many surgeons also oppose the use of pelvic mesh implants for POP repair since there is not enough data that supports the long term benefist compared to the more "traditional" mesh free method. However a differentiation must be made between the meshes used for POP repair and the mesh kit used for SUI repair. The methods and mesh slings used for bladder lift are more mature and they are deffinitely an improvement over the laparoscopic Burch colposuspension used before.
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