Ireland Places Temporary Ban on Transvaginal Mesh

Ireland Places Temporary Ban on Transvaginal Mesh

Introduction

Just a week after the United Kingdom's National Health Services (NHS) declared a temporary ban on the use of transvaginal mesh, Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Simon Harris has also announced a temporary suspension on the use of the mesh stating “understandable public and patient anxiety” concerning the safety of the implants.

Harris stated, "there are understandable public and patient anxiety about the ongoing safety of mesh devices following the considerable publicity that this issue has received, and this has been heightened by recent developments in the NHS. A pause on the use of mesh procedures, pending confirmation by the Executive that the key recommendations below have been implemented, is now considered proportionate and necessary to provide public assurance that these procedures are being carried out in accordance with internationally accepted good practice.” The ban will remain intact till Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) can provide possible recommendations related to surgical training, informed consent and an agreed dataset development on the mesh products.

Lawsuits against the manufacturers of Transvaginal mesh (TVM) continue to be filed in the U.S. District Courts, over design flaws causing severe internal injuries in several women.  Ethicon, C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific are some of the defendants in the TVM litigation, overlooked by Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia.