A victim of transvaginal mesh speaks up
/Seattle Woman Speaks Up About The Impact of Transvaginal Mesh
More and more women are standing up and speaking out about the horrors of transvaginal mesh. KOMO news highlighted Robin Swenson's ordeal. Robin is an active Seattle woman who had some stress urinary incontinence. Instead of alternative treatment options, transvaginal mesh was the recommended course of treatment. That's when her problems began. These are problems that dwarf the original stress urinary incontinence issue and began after. Three surgeries later, Ms. Swenson finally has the mesh out. She may be one of the lucky ones: not every woman is able to get all of the mesh removed. Kudos for Robin Swenson to have the courage to speak out. Her story will provide comfort for many other women. Sometimes one woman’s story allows others to make a meaningful connection; it allows folks to piece together that it’s the mesh that has caused their problems.
Robin Swenson’s story is also remarkable in another sense. The FDA issued heightened warning about mesh in July 2010; yet two years after the warnings, doctors are still recommending the dangerous product. I hope that Robin’s story reaches more women who may be considering a transvaginal mesh product. Thank you Robin Swenson. Your story helps tell the right message.
Tracy Vedder of KOMO 4 News deserves high praise, too, for putting an important spotlight on this issue. The media can convey an important message. It would be terrific if more local media would do as Ms. Vedder has done here to tell the story about this dangerous product. This is an important issue. It’s a women’s health tragedy. At SGB we tell this story in the courtroom. But, if the story can be told before another woman has transvaginal mesh placed in her body, all the better.
