The bladder is a pelvic organ with a hollow body. It holds urine until it is voluntarily excreted. Together with other pelvic organs such as the urethra, uterus, and rectum, the bladder is kept in position through the connective tissues supporting the vaginal wall. This network of connective tissues envelops the walls of the vagina. With age, these tissues stretch and shatter prompting the pelvic organs to be dislocated. This condition is named pelvic organ prolapse.
When the bladder falls into the front wall of the vagina (this condition is called bladder prolapse), symptoms occur such as pain in the pelvis or lower back and during sexual intercourse, urinary problems like stress incontinence and incomplete urination, and the development of infections. Women who have had multiple vaginal deliveries and previous hysterectomy procedures are most prone to pelvic organ prolapse. Menopausal women are also affected. In menopause, there is a lower production of the hormone estrogen. Since estrogen helps with the production of collagen in the body, lower estrogen level also means low collagen level. With a low collagen level, the pelvic muscles and tissues lose their elasticity and breaks down.
The treatment options for this condition is limited. One of these is the use of vaginal mesh implant. As most women would say, it is the modern treatment for Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence. Unfortunately, it has been linked to dangerous complications that are mostly difficult to treat, and some are even irreversible. These adverse events include mesh erosion, pain, bleeding, recurrence of prolapse, problems with urination, pelvic organ perforation, and infections.
Recipients of vaginal mesh who were affected with its complications filed various lawsuits against makers of these deadly medical devices. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed, and it is certain to multiply since mesh producers are still marketing vaginal mesh. Because of these increasing number of vaginal mesh lawsuits, recipients and producers of these deadly medical devices are both requesting the Judicial Panel for a multidistrict litigation of defective vaginal mesh lawsuits.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted promptly on these issues by issuing health notification about the potential danger of vaginal mesh products. However, there are still many physicians practicing vaginal mesh implantation to repair prolapse of the pelvic organs: bladder, urethra, uterus, and rectum. Among these, urethral and bladder prolapse are the two most common forms.
References:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/prolapsed_bladder/page5_em.htm#Exams and Tests http://bladder-problems.org/prolapsed-bladder-and-the-fixes/ http://www.cigna.com/individualandfamilies/health-and-well-being/hw/medical-topics/pelvic-organ-prolapse-tv1000.html














































