Nowadays, it is difficult to turn on the television and not see a commercial discussing complications from hernia mesh surgeries. While people hear about the infections and the need for follow-up procedures, there is little for people to relate to unless they have actually experienced these side effects themselves. Recently, stories have begun to emerge of some of the victims of defective hernia mesh and the costs that these side effects have exacted. Now that there are tangible stories out there,the use of synthetic hernia mesh for surgery is being reexamined. A British Olympian has gone public with his story of how complications from a hernia cost him five years of his career. Now, he wants the public to know of the dangers of this implant, which is not as trouble-free as its manufacturers warranted.

British victims in the United Kingdom (UK) and Great Britain

Dai greene hernia mesh

Dai Greene hernia mesh problems

Many British victims in the United Kingdom (UK) and Great Britain are unaware that they can have an extended statute of limitations to file a  hernia mesh lawsuit against Bard Davol in the United States. The Statute of limitations for Bard/ Davol mesh lawsuit could potentially be over 20 years if the lawsuit is filed in the proper locale in the United States.

Dai Greene is a Welsh track athlete

Dai Greene is a Welsh track athlete who has won hurdles competitions. Greene represented his country in the 2012 Olympics that were held in London. The year after he competed in the London games, he began to experience the symptoms of a sports hernia. In fact, Greene had an inguinal hernia, which is generally a routine and common type of malady, and makes up the bulk of the hernia cases worldwide.

Possible side effects

Doctors performed a hernia operation in which they implanted mesh that was made out of a synthetic material. Nearly all inguinal hernias result in the implantation of mesh, and it is generally a routine procedure. However, the surgery did not turn out to be as simple and pain- free as Greene was told. The athlete was promised that he would be back on the track within weeks and he was never warned of the possible side effects. However, he soon learned that was not to be due to problems that have often occurred with synthetic mesh. Instead, what was supposed to be a routine procedure turned into a five year ordeal.

Began to experience intense pain

Within weeks after the surgery. Greene began to experience intense pain. This was just the beginning of the long nightmare that he would endure. Even though Greene only had the mesh inside him for a short period of time, the mesh became frayed and entangled with his pelvic nerves. This caused Greene to feel extreme discomfort and kept him away from his sport. This is one of the common complications of hernia meshes. Sometimes, the mesh needs to be removed either due to infection or failure of the mesh.

Two surgeries over several years

However, removing the mesh may require several surgeries if it can even be extracted at all. In Greene’s case, it took two surgeries over several years to remove the mesh entirely. This resulted in the nerves having to be cut as well in order to fully remove the mesh. By this time, it was 2015 and his hernia was still not repaired. In the meantime, Greene was still experiencing some side effects, and he was not fully recuperated from his hernia. Because of the pain, he could not train and missed several more years of competition. For Greene, this cost him some of the prime years of his career along with multiple endorsement opportunities.

Years of his career that he lost due to defective hernia mesh

Before Greene’s hernia surgery, he was a top-flight runner. In 2011, Greene won a gold medal in the 400 meter hurdles at the World Athletics Championships. In 2018, however, he was practically starting from scratch at 31 years of age due to the multiple years of injuries that included his hernia complications. For Greene, despite the missed time, he has been able to return to some semblance of the form that won him all of the accolades in from 2010 to 2012. After his return to the track, he won a British title. Now, he is at least back competing at the top levels in the world, but he remains bitter over the years of his career that he lost due to defective
hernia mesh.

As a result of Greene’s injury and subsequent suffering, British Athletics has changed the way it allows its athletes to be treated. Now, British athletes are no longer allowed to have hernia surgery with mesh implants. Greene commends this decision since he does not want other athletes to suffer and lose parts of their career as he did.

Public with his struggles

The hurdler has gone public with his struggles because he wants to raise awareness of the life-changing problems that hernia mesh can cause. Greene hopes that patients will think twice before they elect to have surgery that uses this potentially dangerous product. He at least wants patients to be informed enough so that they can weigh the risks before choosing to have this surgery. Greene wants statistics about hernia mesh complications to be available to prospective patients.

Patients in the United Kingdom have experienced similar issues

Though the type of mesh that Greene received has not been reported, patients in the United Kingdom have experienced similar issues to those in the United States when it comes to hernia mesh. There have been hundreds of adverse event reports about hernia mesh complications to Great Britain’s regulator. Ethicon’s Physiomesh was also in use in Great Britain. This mesh, manufactured by Johnson and Johnson’s Ethicon, was pulled from the market in 2016 after studies revealed a higher rate of failure of this mesh. Now, the company is the defendant in thousands of personal injury lawsuits brought by patients who suffered injuries from their hernia
mesh surgery. Physiomesh was approved pursuant to a streamlined FDA process without the full amount of product testing before it was used in actual patients.

Debilitating and life-altering injuries

Stories such as Greene’s have begun to emerge of patients who have suffered debilitating and life-altering injuries from these mesh products. When it is mesh failure, infection or damage that the mesh does to surrounding organs, patients have required multiple surgeries and have seen their lives permanently changed for the worse. As a result, there has been a growing public focus on the use of hernia mesh. Although the rate of complications is not very high, the side effects are severe enough that patients are starting to reconsider whether it is worthwhile to have this surgery.

If you have experienced problems similar to Greene and have had your life changed by what was supposed to be simple surgery, you do have legal recourse against the company that made the defective hernia mesh. When you hire a hernia mesh lawsuit attorney, you can file a lawsuit that can put you in position to receive compensation that you deserve because of the harm that you have suffered.

Extended statute of limitations?

Contact a hernia mesh lawyer today to find out how you can file this lawsuit in the proper time frame. You pay nothing unless you are successful in recovering money from the product manufacturer who designed and sold the defective mesh. Many victims in the United Kingdom (UK) and Great Britain are unaware that they can have an extended statute of limitations to file a hernia mesh lawsuit against Bard / Davol in the United States. The Statute of limitations for Bard/ Davol hernia mesh lawsuit could potentially be over 20 years if the lawsuit is filed in the proper locale in the United States.