Mesh complications are becoming a common problem that healthcare providers are facing every day in their practices around the world. Data from the UK suggests that at least 10% of patients have problems with mesh and this may be the tip of the iceberg. These complications are not always easily recognised and patients sometimes spend years going round in circles before someone diagnoses that there is a problem with the mesh and then often trying to find someone who can treat the problem is also an issue. There are many patient groups around the world advocating banning of mesh and certainly mesh has been banned or suspended in several countries around the world.
In the pelvic floor, the meshes that are used include incontinence mesh and prolapse mesh (both vaginal and abdominal). There are no long-term data on the problems that mesh can cause and even less data on the management of mesh complications and the outcomes from treating these.