Dr. John Miklos and Dr. Robert Moore – Vaginal Mesh Complication Surgeons
Internationally Renowned Vaginal and Laparoscopic Surgeons
Located in Atlanta, GA – Patients from 47 States and 45 Countries
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Mesh Complication Case Study #5
Pain and Urinary Leakage S/P Perigee and TOT sling
Surgery: Perigee (AMS) vaginal mesh procedure for cystocele and TOT sling for SUI
Symptoms: Vaginal pain, pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, urinary urgency/frequency
Treatment: Vaginal removal of anterior wall mesh and TOT sling
Patient is a 53-year-old woman from Denver, Co who had surgery for a cystocele (dropped bladder) and stress urinary incontinence (leaking with things such as laugh, cough, sneeze, exercise etc). She underwent a vaginal mesh procedure for her cystocele called a Perigee procedure (similar to Prolift Anterior, Pinnacle, Uphold, Avaulta) and a TOT sling for her stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in Arizona. The Perigee procedure is a first generation mesh kit that utilized trocars/needles passed through groin incisions and the obturator space to help place a mesh graft (Type I mesh) and anchor it with arms to the pelvic sidewall muscles. The TOT sling is a similar obturator approach (groin) where needles are passed through the groin to place a sub-urethral mesh tape sling to prevent SUI.
The patient had the above surgery 3 years ago and has been suffering from vaginal pain, pelvic pain, pain with intercourse (she could not have intercourse) and urinary symptoms of severe urgency, frequency and leakage with urge events (ie on the way to the bathroom).
She went to see her surgeon in Arizona many times after surgery and he/she kept telling her that there was nothing wrong and that she will get better with time. She subsequently moved to Colorado where she continued to have pain and problems and was referred to a prominent Urologist in Denver. He examined her and felt that the mesh was too tight and needed to be removed. He felt that this was a very complex operation and told her she needed to travel to Atlanta to have the surgery done. He does complete the mesh repairs for prolapse, and is a very advanced surgeon, however felt that removal of mesh was beyond the scope of his expertise or anyone in the region. He said, “there is only one surgeon in the US that I would recommend do your surgery and that is Dr. Moore in Atlanta, Georgia”.
The patient travelled from Denver to Atlanta to see Dr. Moore and Miklos and on her exam was found to have extreme pain on exam and could barely tolerate any type of vaginal exam at all. It was found that the mesh arms from the Perigee graft AND the TOT sling were all too tight, under tension and when palpated caused extreme pain to the patient. She was also found to have urinary obstruction type symptoms from the mesh and the sling. She was taken to surgery the following day and had the mesh graft and sling released and removed. She recovered well and travelled back to Colorado a few days after surgery and had less pain after surgery than she has had in over 3 years! She subsequently has done very well and has undergone pelvic floor physical therapy to continue to treat her symptoms and help resolve any lingering symptoms.
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