According to a report from the Daily Mail, a group of angry vaginal mesh campaigners have "blasted" the announcement of scientists over a new material that could potentially be used to replace the current material of choice for mesh implants. The new material is polyurethane, and has been described as something that has a likeness to human tissue, which could help the material adapting quicker to the body.
The women's group calling for a ban on the new material is called Sling The Mesh, and it has almost quadrupled in size since the scandal first began in April of last year. The group's founder, Kath Samson, has been at the forefront of the ongoing battle and now leads an audit to track all the women who have been affected by the situation.
According to Samson, the fact that scientists are now presenting a new material that is really not that different from the old one is kind of insulting.
"Poly means plastic and it is this which is causing such devastation," she said. "Plastic can shrink. It is not inert."
In Samson's mind, plastic simply doesn't belong in any person's body, let alone inside a woman's vagina. The main reason why she is so vehemently against it now is the fact that plastics have evidently led to a rise in allergic reactions, burning sensation, and pain in many different women.
The university researchers who have come up with the alternative material maintain that it could be a good source of next-generation mesh implants. It is said that they made their "major breakthrough" by making the material release estrogen into surrounding pelvic tissue, thereby speeding up the healing process. The researchers came up with the new material as part of a study at the Sheffield University's Department of Material Science and Engineering.
According to Sheila MacNeil, a professor at Sheffield who led the trial for the new polyurethane material, the use of harmful solutions for women's problems is "frankly unacceptable." She said that surgeons who are experts in the field have already determined that a new synthetic material needs to be used in order to avoid future problems caused in the pelvic floor for women.
"We started our research because it was clear that the polypropylene mesh was not fit for use in the pelvic floor," she said. In the past, surgeons needed to treat incontinence and prolapse using "the only synthetic material they had to hand," but that this may no longer be the cause thanks to the existence of the new polyurethane material.
For now, this will be an ongoing battle between the campaigners and the researchers who are at odds as to what direction is best to take moving forward. Whatever happens, it should be for the benefit of the women who are suffering from the current mesh problems.
See Medicine.news for more coverage of health risks related to medical devices.
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