A new study from Amsterdam claims an absorbable mesh containing polyester is safe after testing on just 17 women for two years.

The results focus on the fix and ignore / downplay the new onset of pain and life-altering complications. This is a common feature of mesh scientific papers.

It is a common factor in many mesh studies that a very small cohort of patients are used to make exaggerated claims on the safety and success of a health treatment. * See Below

As patient safety advocates we note the following from this study:

  3 in 17 women suffered complications (18%) That’s high risk!

Hysterectomy, inability to void urine, removal of ovaries, mesh erosion and cancerous lesions were among complications – the paper downplays these saying the women underwent an uncomplicated re-intervention with no additional and/or permanent harm.

 Less than half of the women remained cured after 2yrs.

In women whose surgery didn’t work A SECOND SURGERY was given using a polypropylene mesh sling. I wonder if they were warned of mesh risks?

  What’s the point of risking complications in a low success operation? Which may then require second surgery.

 Poly-4-hydroxybutyrate P4HB is absorbable mesh mixed with thermoplastic, linear polyester.

Despite all these things, study authors conclude that: Preliminary evidence suggests that a sling made of P4HB can be safely used for MUS procedures and could be an alternative for permanent polypropylene slings in patients that prefer the use of non-permanent material.

• The Nilsson study trialled mesh in 90 women. More than a quarter dropped out giving a total of 70 women. This study, which began in the late 1990s, was funded by mesh makers Ethicon, and downplayed women’s pain. Yet it was relied on to aggressively promote mesh globally.
  

Safety and efficacy report for the use of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate as a retropubic mid-urethral sling for stress urinary incontinence. November 2023
Krista L.C. van Rest, MD 
Arnoud W. Kastelein, MD, PhD
Kendall J. Brouard, MD
Lamees Ras, MD
Stephen T. Jeffery, MD
Jan-Paul W.R. Roovers, MD, PhD
https://www.jmig.org/article/S1553-4650(23)00971-8/fulltext