Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Defendant, Boston Scientific, Funds New Study

Boston Scientific, Inc., already facing thousands of vaginal mesh lawsuits, is providing $1 million to the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network to study one of its transvaginal mesh products. According to a report from FiercePharma.com, the company wants to see how its new Uphold LITE device stacks up against hysterectomy in treating a prolapsed uterus.

Uphold LITE is not one of the Boston Scientific devices named in transvaginal mesh lawsuits that have been filed against the company. The upcoming study will involve 180 women with uterine prolapse, and will collect data on surgical success, patient safety, cost-effectiveness, quality of life and body image. The study subjects will be screened every six months for up to five years, and the research is expected to yield some results by 2015, FiercPharma.com said.

According to Boston Scientific, the new Uphold LITE device is designed to decrease the likelihood of transvaginal mesh erosion, one of the most common injuries alleged by plaintiffs in vaginal mesh claims. In a statement issued by the company, Charles Nager, M.D., director of the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Division at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said the study’s findings would help clinicians make better treatment decisions for women with uterine prolapse.

Boston Scientific Facing More than 5,000 Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Boston Scientific transvaginal mesh products are named in more than 5,200 lawsuits now pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia. Vaginal mesh lawyers around the country also continue to review cases on behalf of women who were implanted with a Boston Scientific product to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, including:

• Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit
• Uphold Vaginal Support System
• Advantage Fit Transvaginal Mid-Urethral Sling System
• Obtryx Transobturator Mid-Urethral Sling
• Solynx SIS Vaginal Sling System
• Prefyx PPS Pelvic Sling System
• Lynx Suprapublic Mid-Urethral Sling System

Thousands of patients have also filed lawsuits over injuries they allegedly sustained due to transvaginal mesh products marketed by American Medical Systems, Johnson & Johnson and C.R. Bard. All of these claims allege that the pelvic mesh devices the women received were dangerous, and that patients weren’t adequately warned of their risks.

Lawyers Continue to Evaluate Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is representing hundreds of women in transvaginal mesh lawsuits, and continues to offer free case evaluations to anyone injured by these products. To learn more about the vaginal mesh litigation, please call our office at 888-993-3877.