Published in:
01-07-2017 | Original Article
Mesh removal after vaginal surgery: what happens in the UK?
Published in: International Urogynecology Journal | Issue 7/2017
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Introduction and hypothesis
There is little objective evidence regarding complication rates for mesh procedures outside clinical trials. Current coding poorly collects complications of prolapse and continence surgery using mesh. This survey was designed to identify surgeons performing mesh removal and reporting patterns in the UK.
Methods
An electronic questionnaire was sent to all members of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and members of the Section of Female Neurological and Urodynamic Urology of the British Association of Urologists in the UK. The questionnaire aimed to identify the number of procedures performed for mesh complications and whether they were reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the patterns of referral and treatment
Results
Referral to a colleague in the same hospital was common practice (69 %). Only 27 % of respondents stated that they reported all removals to the MHRA. The numbers of surgical procedures were low, with most respondents performing between one and three procedures each year and many not performing any surgery for a specific mesh complication in the previous year.
Conclusions
Removal of exposed, eroded and/or painful vaginally inserted mesh is performed by many different surgeons in a variety of hospital settings in the UK.