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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
A grandmother has said her vaginal mesh implant “completely destroyed her life” for 22 years and has accused UK health services of “gaslighting” women after finally having it removed.
Patricia Conlon, from West Lothian, Scotland, started experiencing symptoms including chronic pain and vaginal bleeding after receiving a mesh implant to treat her incontinence in 2002.
Over the past two decades, these symptoms became progressively worse to the point where Patricia was forced to start using a wheelchair and quit her job.
The 63-year-old former lecturer at Stow College Trade Union Education Department, underwent surgery to have her implant removed on June 7 2024, and discovered the plastic mesh had damaged her vaginal wall and punctured her bladder, which she said now looks like a “tea bag”.
Patricia said doctors repeatedly denied her health problems were caused by the implant, but that since it was removed, some of her symptoms have started to improve.
She has now launched a petition on change.org demanding the Government launch a national public inquiry into the “NHS mesh implant scandal”.
“It’s just destroyed my life completely, I’ve lost 22 years of living and there are so many more women out there who need help,” Patricia told PA Real Life.
“The health service has just gaslighted us and it’s been an absolute slog to get anything done about this.
“It is a scandal… it’s dreadful because it’s on such a huge scale – this is being used all over the world.
“It’s an absolute disgrace.”
Patricia visited the Glasgow Victoria Infirmary, now the New Victoria Hospital, in 2002 after suffering from incontinence.
“I was told it was being caused by a prolapse, but that it was an easy fix, a 20-minute operation,” she said.
“They said this gold standard mesh is an absolute revolution and that I wouldn’t be bothered anymore.”
She had the operation, which involved placing a narrow tape of mesh in the pelvic floor area to support the vaginal wall and other pelvic organs.
But after a year Patricia started developing symptoms, including chronic pain, vaginal bleeding and fatigue, which got progressively worse.
When she returned to the infirmary, Patricia said doctors reassured her the symptoms were not caused by the implant.
“I kept going back and saying, could this be the mesh?” said Patricia.
“They examined me and said ‘no, don’t worry about it, it’s all in place, it’s doing its job.'”
Despite being prescribed strong painkillers, Patricia’s symptoms persisted to the point where she struggled to walk and lift heavy objects.
In 2014, she made the difficult decision to take voluntary redundancy from her job as a college lecturer after finding it difficult to even carry her laptop.
“I just couldn’t do my job anymore,” she said.
“I would have loved to still be at work, but I just wasn’t able to do it because of my symptoms.”
At this point, Patricia was not aware that other women who had received a mesh implant were experiencing similar health issues.
Then in 2017, her daughter Rosie spotted a support group on Facebook called “Scottish Mesh Survivors” and Patricia realised she was not alone.
But again she said doctors were adamant the mesh was not to blame and her health continued to deteriorate over the next few years until even walking became too painful.
“When I was at my worst, I ended up using a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk more than a few steps without being in terrible pain,” she said.
“Sometimes I would be bedridden and I was literally housebound for months.
“I’ve had to rely on other people to look after me… and I haven’t been able to play with my grandchildren, so I feel like I’ve missed out on all that as well.
“I basically haven’t had any quality of life for the past 22 years really.”
Patricia visited Stobhill Hospital, also in Glasgow, in 2018 and was referred to the National Complex Mesh Surgical Service at the New Victoria Hospital.
“And that was only because I was bleeding and there were bits of mesh coming through,” she said.
“A lot of women are really low and they don’t have the strength to fight it.”
Patricia said getting an appointment at the complex took years due to cancellations and it was only in 2023 that she was referred to have her mesh taken out.
On June 7, 2024, Patricia visited the Spire Bristol Hospital to have it surgically removed.
Operation notes, seen by PA Real Life, revealed surgeons removed 15 inches of mesh which had eroded her vaginal wall and damaged her bladder.
“When I came out of theatre, I was put in intensive care and had to have a blood transfusion,” said Patricia.
“When I spoke to the surgeon afterwards he said my bladder had so many holes in it, and that he had tried to stitch them up.
“So basically my bladder has been left like a tea bag and I now have worse incontinence than before I went to get it done.”
Since the operation, Patricia said some of her symptoms have improved but that it will take a while for the pain to stop.
It is estimated that over 20 years, more than 100,000 women across the UK, including more than 20,000 in Scotland, had transvaginal mesh implants, according to figures reported in Scottish Parliament.
The use of mesh in Scotland was suspended in all but exceptional circumstances in 2014 after it emerged some women had suffered painful side-effects, and halted in NHS Scotland in 2018.
In 2020, the Scottish Government set up a £1 million fund offering women who have suffered complications following vaginal mesh surgery a one-off payment of £1,000, which Patricia received.
“I don’t know how you divide that up over 22 years,” Patricia added.
In 2022, the government passed the Transvaginal Mesh Removal Bill establishing a scheme to reimburse women who paid to have their mesh removed privately.
Patricia, who had hers removed on the NHS, said: “We don’t allow people to throw plastic into the sea because it poisons fish, so why are we allowed to put it in women’s bodies?
“Your body thinks it’s a foreign object so starts fighting against it and it gives you all sorts of autoimmune problems.
“I’m in less pain but it will likely never completely go away because the damage is done.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear of Ms Conlon’s experience, however we cannot comment on the detail of individual cases.
“Where someone is unhappy with aspects of care they have received or are left with concerns, we encourage them to provide feedback directly to the health board concerned.
“Through feedback, health boards can identify issues and take steps to make improvements in the future.
“We have taken action to improve health services for women experiencing mesh complications.
“This includes establishing a specialist service, putting in place funded, independent, provider options to allow women a choice of who performs their surgery, and reimbursing women who had previously paid for mesh removal surgery.”
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said: “The Complex Mesh Service is a national programme hosted by NHSGGC, and provides treatment pathways and support to women from across the country.
“The NHSGGC service is part of the UK network of 10 specialist mesh centres and is recognised for its clinical expertise in this field.
“NHSGGC continues to work with partner organisations to provide clinical care to those women affected (by) this issue.”
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