Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Marian Kenny submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/ZZ - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
When I was 45 I had just qualified as a nurse and after only 18 months got my dream job as a community psychiatric nurse. I was finally feeling that my life was going in a direction I was very happy to take. But I had an issue that I had been seeing a urologist for. I had stress incontinence. I had put off surgery (Burch colposuspension) as I wanted to complete my training. After qualifying I saw the consultant again and told him I was ready for surgery. My investigations (particularly cystoscopy) was cancelled on numerous occasions, but eventually I was placed on the list for surgery. At one of my outpatient appointments the surgeon told me I could have this new surgery which would involve less time in hospital and more especially less time off work. He told me as it was a relatively new procedure there wasn’t much data relating to efficacy beyond five years. The only risk explained to me was that of the possibility of the mesh being too tight, and that if that were the case they would snip it. Other than reminding me of the usual risks of any surgery nothing else was mentioned re risk.
After many cancellations I finally had it done.
When I awoke from surgery I couldn’t close my legs. It felt as though they didn’t belong to me and I had no power in them. The nurse had to close them for me. As the day wore on and the next morning came I was able to go home, walking with the help of a family member.
I was only supposed to be off work for a couple of days but was much too sore and so was off for a number of weeks to recover.
Over the next few years I began to suffer with pains in my legs and hips, and with odd symptoms like stabbing and shooting pains in my vagina and back passage. These pains were excruciating and happened at any time, when shopping or visiting patients, and also when trying to be intimate.
I experienced recurrent UTIs which caused me to be off sick a lot.
I saw my GP who referred me back to urology, who determined the “tape” was fine.
My hip pain continued, I had an X-ray which determined my hips were not a problem.
This went on for many years and I had no explanation for the pain I was experiencing. No doctor was listening to me which left me feeling disbelieved.
I finally saw an article in a newspaper and I saw myself in the stories recorded.
I went to see a different urologist and I requested removal.
Eventually my “tape” was “removed” and I was told by my surgeon it was all removed except for “a couple of mm either side”
I initially felt a little better but before too long the pain I had on my right side was now replicated in the left. My mobility got increasingly worse.
I never returned to my job that I loved, to my career I had worked hard for. My contract was terminated due to ill health. I was sacked by the NHS due to a procedure the NHS had carried out. I was devastated. My life had (and continues to be) changed beyond recognition.
I need a wheelchair for anything more than a few feet.
All of these repercussions are bad enough, but when I requested the photographs of my surgery I found that instead of a “tiny few mm” remaining, it was only around 4cm that had actually been removed. I discovered the surgeon who I had trusted had lied.
I now suffer from various autoimmune symptoms which I’m sure are due to the remainder of the toxic mesh (yes tape is made of mesh, polypropylene mesh, plastic mesh which should never be in a human body) left inside my body to continue to degrade and possibly migrate to other areas of my body.
I have been retired now for 5 years. If I hadn’t had this surgery I would have worked for another 11 years. I am 62 years old and I’m not being dramatic when I say my life as a granny, wife, mother has been decimated. All of my relationships have been affected negatively. I can’t have sex.
The pelvic mesh petition PE1517 heard my voice, and that of many others, now we need a new petition to cover ALL mesh implants made of materials which damage us and that is why I support fully PE1865 Suspend Surgical Mesh and fixation Devices.
Related correspondences
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Ray Taylor submission of 13 June 2021
PE1865/A - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
James Snell submission of 17 June 2021
PE1865/B - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Iana Buckley submission of 17 June 2021
PE1865/C - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Elizabeth Cunningham submission of 17 June 2021
PE1865/D - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Norma Roberts submission of 19 June 2021
PE1865/E - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Kathleen Wilson submission of 19 June 2021
PE1865/F - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Cathleen Macleod submission of 19 June 2021
PE1865/G - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Shadia Hernandez submission of 19 June 2021
PE1865/H - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/I - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/J - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/K - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Michelle Cree submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/L - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Isobel Mclafferty submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/M - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/N - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Agnes Thomson submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/O - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/P - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Fiona Robinson submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/Q - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Fiona Stephenson submission of 25 June 2021
PE1865/R - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Maureen Kane submission of 26 June 2021
PE1865/S - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Lesley Hughes submission of 27 June 2021
PE1865/T - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Graham Bute submission of 29 June 2021
PE1865/U - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Amy Hughes submission of 29 June 2021
PE1865/V - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Margaret Thomson submission of 29 June 2021
PE1865/W - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Patricia Conlon submission of 29 June 2021
PE1865/X - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 30 June 2021
PE1865/Y - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Nicole MacNiven submission of 2 July 2021
PE1865/Z - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Marie Steele submission of 2 July 2021
PE1865/AA - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care submission of 2 July 2021
PE1865/BB - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anne Monie submission of 2 July 2021
PE1865/CC - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Grace Kilna submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/DD - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Marie Dolan submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/EE - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Dawn Kennedy submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/FF - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Julie Barr submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/GG - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Cindy Gray submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/HH - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/II - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Carole Coutts submission of 6 July 2021
PE1865/JJ - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Adele Newton submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/KK - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Cathie Maison submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/LL - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Debbie Millar submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/MM - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
John Mcfadden submission of 7 July 2021
PE1865/NN - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 19 July 2021
PE1865/OO - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
June Mackay submission of 19 July 2021
PE1865/PP - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Carole Coutts submission of 19 July 2021
PE1865/QQ - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Yvonne Cameron submission of 19 July 2021
PE1865/RR - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Brendan Clarkin submission of 23 July 2021
PE1865/SS - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Jacqueline Boyle submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/TT - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Jennifer Radema submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/UU - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Jacqui Shaw submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/VV - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Jennifer Snowden submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/WW - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Anonymous submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/XX - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Jacqueline Mitchell submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/YY - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Marian Kenny submission of 26 July 2021
PE1865/ZZ - Suspend all surgical mesh and fixation devices