Individuals engaging in excessive lifting, bending, and folding are the ones usually prone to a hernia—a condition when an organ is displaced from its position. However, depending on the circumstance, it could happen to anyone, and most cases involve treatment with the surgical implant of a hernia mesh. Millions of hernia repair occur yearly, but not all surgeries are successful.
What Is A Hernia Mesh?
A hernia mesh is a device doctors implant into the abdomen, upper stomach, or groin to support deteriorating tissue or to seal a perforation within the muscle with damage, allowing the hernia to protrude. However, a repair involving a mesh has a chance of recurrence as there are cases in which there’s a risk of mesh malfunction and significant hernia complications.
Indications Of Hernia Mesh Complications
Many individuals who end up with serious hernia mesh complications would require further surgeries. In the latest reports, patients could experience hernia mesh complications within six years of operation, resulting in a steady increase in the number of hernia mesh lawsuits. If you’re experiencing indications of a complication, it’s crucial to find the best lawyer for hernia mesh lawsuit for legal actions accompanying your condition.
Being aware of the symptoms is important to conduct the immediate steps necessary. Here are tell-tale signs you might be having hernia mesh complications:
- Infection
Some individuals who undergo hernia mesh implant surgery could develop an infection, and the risk is likely to increase among those who have diabetes, obesity, immunosuppression, and other health conditions before the operation.
Infections typically manifest around two weeks up to three years after hernia repair, along with symptoms such as skin redness, pain, swelling, tenderness, and increased abdominal wall temperature. In some cases, a person could experience malaise, fever, and chills.
- Adhesions
Adhesion occurs when scar tissue forms between two surfaces in the body. It can happen after a traumatic injury or a response to the introduction of a foreign body such as a hernia rash. The condition can also develop among individuals who undergo abdominal surgery. Often, the body recuperates, but there are times when adhesions trigger problems requiring further assessment by a doctor.
Among those who undergo hernia repair usually end up with adhesions in the peritoneum, which is the membrane linking the interior abdomen to the outer organs. An adhesion can cause complications including painful urination, bowel obstruction, bloating, blocked digestion, vomiting, and chronic abdominal and pelvic pain.
It’s also hard to detect during a physical examination or with imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In most cases, it’s typically seen via laparoscopy while treating other conditions.
- Bowel Obstruction
The hernia itself is one of the causes of bowel obstructions, but even the repair can lead to adhesions leading to further complications. Its presence is one of the leading causes of bowel disruption, and in some cases, defective mesh products can also trigger it.
The indications of small-bowel obstruction include nausea, cramping, vomiting, bloating, difficulty passing gas, and a series of abdominal discomfort lasting around 15 minutes. As for large-bowel obstruction, the signs include constipation or diarrhea. Usually, the treatment involves surgical removal of the mesh and repairing of any damaged tissue.
If not taken care of, it can disrupt the supply of blood to the intestines, possibly resulting in the tearing of the intestinal wall and progressing into septic shock. In some cases, it could be fatal as well.
- Recurrence Of Hernia
Although recurrence with hernia repair is relatively lower than the procedure not involving a mesh, it can still occur, especially among malnourished, anemic, obese, diabetic, jaundiced, heavy lifters, smokers, and those using steroids.
- Mesh Migration
Mesh migration can occur due to poor fixation of the mesh to the fascia or an inflammatory reaction to the mesh over the years. Also, a composite dual polypropylene mesh is likely to migrate. Mesh migration is a rare type of complication, but it can result in severe side effects such as chronic abdominal pain, acute intestinal obstruction, bowel perforation, and mass formation.
It can take around 5-30 years for the mesh to deteriorate to the point where it migrates, and this type of complication usually requires colonoscopy to locate the mesh in the colon.
Conclusion
In case you or someone you know suffers from any of these hernia mesh complications, you have the option to file a lawsuit to seek damages. Certain types of hernia mesh products are no longer available in the market, so once you experience any of these signs, it’s crucial to seek medical care right away to prevent it from getting worse.
