Sling The Mesh Survey 2020
Pain while walking was the most common symptom experienced by women suffering complications
following a mesh implant surgery, according to the Sling The Mesh Survey 2020.
Sling The Mesh asked its 8,600 members how their lives had been impacted since having a mesh
implant. The top five most common complications experienced were:
- pain walking
- urinary urgency
- pain sitting
- severe fatigue
- IBS bloating
These were followed by chronic hip and leg pain, discomfort during sex, brain fog, urinary frequency
and anxiety.
Symptoms
Respondents were asked to indicate, from a list, any symptoms that were new onset or
had worsened since mesh surgery. They were also invited to add any symptom not already stated
that had developed soon after mesh surgery, or which they associated with it.
Symptoms were then grouped into categories, with the number of respondents listed. Symptoms
with fewer than 35 respondents were excluded.
Serious health problems
The survey revealed that serious health problems included depression and suicidal thoughts, constant
urinary tract infections, sepsis and a host of autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis and painful joints,
Lichen sclerosus and Sjögren’s syndrome.
High on the list were fibromyalgia, numb legs and feet, severe dry eye, nerve damage in the groin, and constipation.
Almost 300 women reported mesh slicing into their vagina and 148 said their mesh had cut into their bladder, urethra or bowel.
