Our Stories
Sling The Mesh was founded by former journalist and photographer Kath Sansom after experiencing complications from TVT mesh sling surgery. What began as a small support group of 20 women has grown into an international campaign with nearly 13,000 members, including men with hernia mesh issues and women affected by breast mesh.
The mesh scandal has exposed systemic failures: devices approved through weak “equivalence” loopholes, marketed as gold standard on flawed evidence, without registries to track harm. Patients reporting complications are dismissed, misdiagnosed, and often gaslit, while thousands suffer in silence in a narrative of institutional denial.
This crisis highlights global regulatory shortcomings, financial conflicts of interest, and inadequate safety systems. Our mission is to ensure these stories are heard and drive change for safer healthcare.
We are dedicated to protecting future generations from similar harm
Hernia mesh
- Chronic post-operative pain – You Tube presentation
Chronic pain is a recurring theme in the surgical mesh scandal. Here, French doctor Pierre-Henri Moury gives a presentation (in English) to the International Institute for Research in Bioethics at Paris Sorbonne University invited by Professor Christian Hervé and Henri-Corto Stoeklé. He details issues of surveillance and public health, while also speaking of the global and ethical perspective. - Hernia mesh has taken away Martin’s ability to have children
I will never be able to have children after doctors inserted hernia mesh in my groin and I went through hell with complications and infections. I could barely walk some days. I had to have a testicle removed and live with chronic pain. Seven surgeries later I’m disabled and in constant pain. Hernia mesh sliced my spermatic cord. In 2014 I […] - Daily regret of having a hernia mesh
I had a mesh for a hernia repair when I was 28 years old. From the off I knew something wasn’t right and my scar kept getting infected. Eventually it cleared up with antibiotics and I kept getting told this was normal. We trust our NHS doctors and nurses so I didn’t question it. For the next few years I […]
Pelvic mesh
- The mesh operation that took my career, my hobbies and my independence
I had a successful colposuspension in 2000 to treat bladder leaks, and it worked perfectly for 17 years. Colposuspension is the traditional surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence and does not involve the use of mesh. In 2017 after surgery for a bladder and bowel prolapse, I was advised to have a TVT mesh sling inserted as my bladder leaks […] - So Proud of my mum on BBC Breakfast
My incredible mum was on BBC Breakfast this morning… and of course she was wearing clothes from my shop Unscripted! She was bravely sharing her story about pelvic mesh and the devastating impact it’s had on her life. Many of you will know my mum, Mandy, as one of our biggest shopaholics in store (I definitely know where I get […] - A life changed by mesh surgery that I didn’t consent to
Hi my name is Pamela and my story started in 2002 a year after my second C-section, but I will fast forward to 2014 when after years of crying and help my local hospital finally agreed to open me up to see what was causing my pain in my groin area. When I woke from surgery I was told they […]
Rectopexy mesh
- Rectopexy mesh journey published in a memoir
I have documented a full and detailed account in my memoir ‘The Grace of a Nightingale’. My story tells how I became seriously ill, there was a significant delay in diagnosis, harm and subsequent life changing losses – career (university lecturer), marriage, home and friends. My story goes onto tell how despite the trauma I survived and rebuilt my life. […] - I haven’t been warned of risks
I have a rectopexy mesh surgery planned using a plastic polypropylene mesh. The surgeon said there are no other options…
Other mesh
- Jane’s breast mesh after mastectomy felt like a knife being twisted inside
Jane had a double mastectomy in 2011 and, two years later, had a reconstruction using fat and muscle from her abdomen – the surgeon then reinforced her stomach wall using mesh. It is a common way that surgeons create a new breast for cancer patients and is known as a TRAM flap operation. The mother-of-three underwent the double mastectomy when […] - Breast mesh after a mastectomy left Jemma on regular doses of tramadol painkiller
Jemma Parker, from St Albans in Hertfordshire, says mesh used to rebuild her breasts after a double mastectomy ten years ago has left her needing regular doses of the powerful painkiller tramadol. The mum-of-three, who runs her own beauty business, had her breasts removed at 30 as she carries the BRCA1 gene that puts her at a very high risk […] - Mike’s story – men’s mesh slings
I had leaking accidents after treatment for prostate cancer. My consultant told me I could have a simple operation that was like a hammock to stop it. Luckily my wife is a member of Sling The Mesh…
