Health support group demands a ban on surgical mesh products

The non-profit health support group, Public Citizen has raised alarm over direct scrutiny of synthetic surgical mesh products. These mesh products are utilized in treating a specific health condition called pelvic organ prolapsed.

Public Citizen, yesterday, strongly advocated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the mesh products from market. As per Public Citizen reports, in 2010 around 300,000 women in the state got operated to fix pelvic organ prolapsed.

Pelvic organ misplacement occurs when muscles and connective tissues around the rectum, urinary bladder, or womb grows weaker; coercing the organs to slide into the vagina.

Mesh product surgery can be ineffective
Public Citizen claims that out of 300,000 women, nearly 67,500 underwent mesh product implantation. The official federal regulator reports confirmed 1,503 patients to have suffered post-surgery complications like pelvic organ injuries and excruciating corrosion of the mesh implant.

The non-profit group made public aware that mesh product is one of the medical products which got sanctioned via FDA’s much controversial 510(k) program. The report emphasized that in contrast of prescription drugs, mesh products were not made tested on patients before they finally reach the market.

Michael Carome, deputy director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group said "Surgical mesh needlessly exposes patients to a wide array of serious risks, many of which can permanently alter women’s quality of life… Even the FDA seriously questions the safety and effectiveness of these products, so they should be removed from the market immediately.”

Alternative treatment should be considered
Meanwhile, FDA also published its separate safety caution against the use of mesh products for the transvaginal placement. William Maisel, deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health asserted that FDA is calling for greater considerations for alternative treatment options from doctors.

Many medical experts suggest that transvaginal fixtures with mesh products are open to bigger risks in comparison to patients whose organs are fixed with only stitches.

Supporting this opinion, Public Citizen debated that mesh implants have, till now, showed no apparent medical benefits and its post-surgery complications could not be fixed through additional surgeries.