How Can You Tell if the Hernia Mesh is Not Working or Fails?

It is not impossible to have the situation after a hernia repair surgery that the hernia mesh stops working. In those cases, there is a hernia repair surgery failure for the person who has had the hernia repair. An individual who has had a hiatal hernia repair may have had it for an associated gastro-esophageal reflux disease issue. The standard procedure for this issue is to have a surgery which will work to repair the hernia. The surgery needs to focus on the complete excision of the sac, the crus closure and a fundoplication (whereby the top part of the stomach is folded to be sewn over the lower stomach and esophagus area).¹ After the hernia surgery, it is not unusual for a person to have issues with recurrence of another hiatal hernia, with a recurrence rate of nearly half. The factors associated with the recurrence can include if the person has had:

• A missing strong fascia
• Rupture of the crus from extra tension
• A shortened esophagus¹

The hernia mesh in a surgery for a hiatal hernia can fail at any time after the surgical procedure is completed. In addition, there can be other complications that can occur as well, including:¹

• Damage to the esophagus and diaphragm with repetitive movements
• Persistent cough after the surgical procedure
• Straining of cough
• Sneezing
• Difficulty during breathing
• Laughing straining
• Serious mesh complications
• Mesh erosion
• Migration of the mesh into the esophagus or lumen
• Migration of mesh into the stomach
• Requirement of needing a lifelong feeding tube for nourishment

The hernia mesh can also break down and erode after a parastomal hernia procedure. When the hernia mesh breaks down, it can be difficult to identify and diagnose, even at the earliest states of the problem. This means that the hernia mesh can break down and erode even several years after the hernia mesh surgery. The use of coated hernia meshes are preferred for hernia mesh procedures, to avoid the risk complications such as:

• Adhesion to other organs
• Intestinal erosion
• Stenosis

The incidence of mesh erosion is a rare occurrence, but it can happen with a parastomal hernia surgery. In these cases, the main reason for the hernia to erode is from diaphragm movement, which may cause hernia mesh migration within the body, or erosion of the hernia mesh material in the body.²

It may be the case that a hernia mesh migration and erosion can occur with any type of hernia surgical procedure. This means that a hernia mesh can move or break down with a surgical procedure for a:²

• Inguinal hernia
• Incision hernia
• Umbilical hernia
• Pasastoman hernia
• Obturator hernia
• Abdominal wall strengthening

If this has happened to you and your hernia mesh has migrated within your body, you can call our law office, and discuss your personal injury claim with our legal team. We can review your options, to get you the money you deserve for a medical malpractice claim for the failure for your hernia mesh.

The major organs of the body can be irreparably damaged with the failure of a hernia mesh. For example, the mesh can adhere to or stick on neighboring organs in the body, when it becomes eroded or starts to break down. This can be a catastrophic failure of the hernia mesh, which may require it to be removed with a subsequent surgical procedure to take the implanted hernia mesh out again. If the surgeon trims the sharper edges of the mesh, it may help to stop the hernia mesh from adhering to the surface of surrounding organs, and it may prevent an inflammation from developing from the hernia mesh after the surgical procedure.²

If a hernia mesh is inserted into an area of the person’s body where there was a prior surgical procedure, the hernia mesh may not properly adhere in that region. For example, if a person has had a medical history of an appendectomy, the hernia mesh may adhere to the scar tissue in the area of the appendectomy, causing adhesion and organ complications that can include erosion of the hernia mesh. If this does occur, then the organs in that region of the body or the area of the intestines may become damaged, with other tissues being injured as the hernia mesh adheres generally to other organs in the region of the surgical procedure.² For example, if there is repeated rubbing or pressure such as friction in the area of the fixed intestine and the hernia mesh, it may cause erosion of the hernia mesh as well. If the surgeon uses titanium tackers to affix the hernia mesh, it may help prevent adhesion of the hernia mesh to other major organs in the patient’s body, after a hernia mesh surgical procedure.² Each hernia mesh surgical procedure is different and will have different risks associated with the procedure to affix a hernia mesh to the damaged area of the hernia. For this reason, it is not possible to diagnose your hernia mesh complication by just reading an article on the topic. It is imperative that you call our legal team now, to review your claim and personal injuries related to any erosion or breaking down of a hernia mesh procedure. For more information, you can feel free to call us today at the Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, and you can speak to us now at 866-INJURY2 or 866-465-8792.

References

• ¹Li, J., & Cheng, T. (2019). Mesh erosion after hiatal hernia repair: the tip of the iceberg?. Hernia: the Journal of Hernias and Abdominal Wall Surgery, 23(6), 1243–1252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10029-019-02011-w
• ²Zhang, Y., Lin, H., Liu, J. M., Wang, X., Cui, Y. F., & Lu, Z. Y. (2023). Mesh erosion into the colon following repair of parastomal hernia: A case report. World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 15(2), 294–302. https://doi.org/10.4240/wjgs.v15.i2.294