More than half of women implanted with surgical pelvic mesh lost their sex life, according to a 2012 report written for the UKs regulator, the MHRA.

Despite this, pelvic mesh continued to be hailed as the first-choice gold standard option, used widely on the NHS, to support weak tissue in operations to fix prolapse and bladder leaks.

The York Report, submitted to the MHRA in 2012, is included in a wider summary of evidence published in 2014, which reveals a shocking history of how regulators, surgeon societies and senior NHS leaders knew it was causing problems – but allowed its use to continue regardless.

The Evidence on Benefits and Risks of Vaginal Mesh states: “It is clear the impact on the quality of life for some patients is severe” P39 and reveals that:

• Up to three quarters of women experienced recurring urinary tract infections (76%)
• One in four women experienced pain (25%). Page 47
• More than half (57%) had sexual difficulties after prolapse mesh and 10% after mesh slings for incontinence.

In an 8-year period (2005 to 2013) there were 401 reports of harm to the MHRA – during a period when mesh was not widely known about or understood as it was not reported regularly in regional and national print and broadcast media until Sling The Mesh launched in 2015.

The MHRA “fully recognised that adverse events are under reported for all medical devices.” P39

Back then, even less people knew what the Yellow Card was. It’s still little barely known about in 2024.

Sales data showed showed there were 29 different pelvic mesh kits on the market with 170,433 units sold in the UK (2005 to 2013). Almost 3.7million mesh kits were sold worldwide in that time. P41

Mesh use continued

Despite the warnings in 2012 within the York Report, thousands more women continued to be implanted with pelvic mesh and suffered irreversible, life altering complications as a result.

It took until 2017 for vaginally inserted prolapse mesh patches to be banned in the UK and America. Abdominally inserted prolapse mesh continues globally to this day – often without fully informed consent.

It took until 2018 for mesh slings for bladder leaks to be suspended in the UK thanks to Baroness Julia Cumberlege stepping in as part of her First Do No Harm review.

Bladder slings were suspended in New Zealand in 2023.

The MHRA still states the benefits of mesh outweigh the risks.