Open letter to Surgeons who
have implanted mesh
:
Each of you who blatantly
disregarded your patients pain and suffering has broken the oath, “First, Do NO
Harm.” You have harmed us many times over. And will continue to do so until you
take the time to educate yourselves beyond what a pharmaceutical representative
tells you.
What, exactly, did you
KNOW about mesh before you advised your patient? Did you KNOW that is supposed
to be permanent? Did you KNOW that mesh might not work well for everyone? Did
you KNOW that mesh was inert, or that it wasn’t? Did you KNOW if mesh could
shrink, curl and damage surrounding tissue as it moved? Did you KNOW if the
patient would have a foreign body response to the mesh? Did you KNOW that a bad
reaction might cause repeated infections and or bleeding? Did you KNOW what the
possible complications were associated with blind insertion of mesh? Did you
KNOW if the one-size-fits-all kits would work on every one the same, regardless
of body type or size? Did you KNOW that nerve entrapment or injury was
probable? Did you KNOW that if an adverse reaction to mesh occurred that the
only way to alleviate the symptoms was to remove the mesh? Did you KNOW that
the resulting pain of nerve injury and or reaction to the mesh would cause your
patient to LOSE quality of life? Did you KNOW how many of your patients might
die due to complications arising from mesh implantation? Did YOU know?
If you didn’t you should have. If you did, you forgot to
mention this to us.
Failing to tell us any of that, how could you belittle us
when we begged for help? Is there something written somewhere that this is due
course when a patient comes to you for medical assistance? We came to you, as a
person of trust, to help us find answers to why we were left in this horrible
condition after an operation you claimed would lift our quality of life.
Instead of answers we had pieces
of eroding mesh yanked and cut from our most private parts without any numbing
agents. Then we were sent to pain clinics where we were given painful shots in
our abdomens and sensitive pelvic areas, that gave little to no relief, and
pelvic physical therapists who caused more pain. And when these actions didn’t
alleviate our symptoms we asked if the mesh was the cause. Our question was not
appreciated which resulted in our being disrespected, treated to eye rolls and
told it was all in our head. In some cases you walked out on us, told us to
leave or were physically and or verbally abusive. Yet many of us continued to
believe in you even though, in our hearts, we knew different and have suffered
needlessly because of it.
Many, if not all of us, have
been told we were the “only” patient who ever had problems. How can hundreds,
thousands, tens of thousands (the total numbers are unknown) of people each be
the ONLY one who has had adverse reactions to mesh? How many complications were
you aware of but didn’t bother to mention because you were told they were rare
and this was the GOLD STANDARD of treatment for POP, SUI and Hernia repair?
If you are finding many
more patients than usual do not trust your advice it is because you have forced
us to look beyond you, to look for answers you are either unwilling or unable
to give.
YOU are the doctor, the one who is supposed to know the medical
answers and if you don’t then it is your job to find them.
It is not the patients
responsibility to determine whether a product or drug is in their best
interest, to know what is safe. That is YOUR responsibility, why you get paid
the big bucks! Just because a representative of a pharmaceutical company says
it’s so, doesn’t make it so. And just because the FDA has cleared a product
through the 510(k) doesn’t mean that it’s safe for patient use. It’s time to go
back to treating patients as human beings instead of quotas on the insurance
gravy train .
. and if you can’t or won’t then maybe
it’s time for a new career.
I find it difficult to believe that this is date 2012....no interested until 2015.
ReplyDelete"all in your head " is exactly what they have been saying to MoM victim for years.
Its so insulting.