The Vaginal Mesh Helpline is keeping you up to date on all news related to vaginal mesh lawsuits, Incontinence and vaginal mesh complications and trial updates. This new FDA approval of Botox for urinary incontinence is very interesting. Many mesh victims are seeing incontinence return with the vaginal mesh failing and falling apart.  This news on Botox may be of interest to our vaginal mesh readers.

January 18, 2013 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) to treat adults with overactive bladder who cannot use or do not adequately respond to a class of medications known as anticholinergics.

Overactive bladder is a condition in which the bladder squeezes too often or squeezes without warning. Symptoms include leaking urine (urinary incontinence), feeling the sudden and urgent need to urinate, and frequent urination.

When Botox is injected into the bladder muscle, it causes the bladder to relax, increasing the bladder’s storage capacity and reducing episodes of urinary incontinence. Injecting the bladder with Botox is performed using cystoscopy, a procedure that allows a doctor to visualize the interior of the bladder while Botox is being injected.

“Clinical studies have demonstrated Botox’s ability to significantly reduce the frequency of urinary incontinence,” said Hylton V. Joffe, M.D., director of the Division of Reproductive and Urologic Products in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Today’s approval provides an important additional treatment option for patients with overactive bladder, a condition that affects an estimated 33 million men and women in the United States.”

Botox’s safety and effectiveness for this new indication were established in two clinical trials of 1,105 patients with symptoms of overactive bladder. Patients were randomly assigned to receive injections of 100 units of Botox (20 injections of 5 units each) or placebo.

Results after 12 weeks showed that patients treated with Botox experienced urinary incontinence an average of 1.6 to 1.9 times less per day than patients treated with placebo. Botox-treated patients also needed to urinate on average 1.0 to 1.7 times less per day and expelled an average of about 30 milliliters more urine than those treated with placebo.

Treatment with Botox can be repeated when the benefits from the previous treatment have decreased, but there should be at least 12 weeks between treatments.

Side Effects.

Keep in mind that this could be beneficial or prove to have complications down the road.

Common side effects reported during clinical trials included urinary tract infections, painful urination, and incomplete emptying of the bladder (urinary retention). Patients who develop urinary retention may need to use a catheter until the urinary retention resolves. Patients being treated for overactive bladder with Botox should not have a urinary tract infection and should take antibiotics before, during, and for a few days after Botox treatment to lower the chance of developing an infection from the procedure.

Botox is manufactured by Allergan Inc. based in Irvine, Calif.

At the vaginal mesh helpline we are collecting stories from all over the web. "Women of the Vaginal mesh". You are not alone. Husbands of the vaginal mesh you are with us as well. Get a vaginal mesh lawyer, discuss and vaginal mesh doctor and get support at the vaginal mesh helpline.

It is almost three in the morning.  I woke up suddenly, thinking I heard something.  I hobbled through to the kitchen, every step reminding me of the mesh in my body, but the house was quiet.  I put a cup of milk to heat in the microwave.  While it warmed I began thinking about the woman who sent me an email before I went to bed.  Another lost soul living in pain, unable to work and fighting our system.  Trying to get disability and medical care is not made easy for women with mesh in their bodies.  They fight pain daily and have to fight harder to get medical care, often without good result.
I checked my email to see if she had answered my question of which State she was in.  Nothing.  There was a story from a thirty-two year old woman who also has mesh in her body after a hysterectomy and can no longer care for herself or two children.  Another life on hold and broken.  Another family in serious trouble.  I then checked to see how a friend had done today with his fundraiser.  A fundraiser designed to help him and his wife try to save their lives and those of others.  Mesh is responsible.  Their house always close to foreclosure.  He is always struggling to make enough money to take his wife on a long road trip to the doctor.  Another two lives on the edge.  Another family broken on the brink of collapse.  I read his sad, broken words that the fundraiser was a wash.  Maybe it was because it was the Easter weekend.  Maybe it is the economy.  Who knows.  He felt beaten down.  He said they were worse off than before.  His words linger in my mind.  Mesh is responsible.

Today is Easter Sunday.  A holiday of joyful religious spirit for many.  A holiday for children to hunt and find eggs.  A Spring holiday with the promise of summer and carefree fun.  Not for everyone.  For those who have mesh in their body and the families who support them, there isn’t a lot to celebrate.  Each day is a struggle.  Financially, emotionally and physically.  It takes a toll on all who are exposed to the perils of mesh.

I hope this friend will bounce back tomorrow and not feel a failure.  I know he feels beaten and a failure as a man.  A man who wants to help his wife get well.  His spirit broken.

For all those who enjoy this spiritual holiday, there are many who can’t enjoy anything.  The endless pain racking their body and destroying the life they once knew.  Their family watching on the side lines unable to take away the pain.  Mesh is responsible.

When will the world take notice?

Vaginal mesh Helpline is always seeking new information for women with vaginal Mesh Complications. We found this information from a  a Dr in Vero Beach Florida

Treating Mesh Complications
Transvaginal Mesh Complication Treatments

Dr. Zipper continues to treat mesh complications from across the country. Secondary to the high volume of mesh used in the state of Florida, Dr. Zipper has extensive experience in the surgical correction of mesh complications. Dr. Zipper's innovative methods are minimally invasive and are typically completed as short outpatient surgeries.

"Most mesh complications are easily treated as long as the surgeon understands how to correct the problem and is willing to bring the patient back to the operating room. Most mesh complications should not be treated in the doctor's office," states Dr. Zipper.

Mesh Extrusions (Erosions):
This is the most common complication of transvaginal mesh placement. In simple terms, the mesh breaks through the incision or intact vaginal lining. This results in symptoms such as bleeding, vaginal discharge, odor, and often scratching of the male partner with intercourse. This is easily treated by removal of the exposed mesh and injured surrounding vaginal tissue. Although it may require more than one procedure to fix, skilled surgeons successfully treat over 90 percent of their patients with a single surgery.

Dr. Zipper was the first surgeon in the country to utilize the Plasma Blade to treat mesh extrusions. The Plasma Blade is a unique surgical instrument that replaces the scalpel. It utilizes the fourth state of matter, plasma energy, to dissect out the mesh and remove injured surrounding tissue. It causes much less damage then traditional cautery devices and is associated with less bleeding than a scalpel.

Constipation
Constipation is most likely secondary to how the mesh is placed and not the material itself. Constipation typically occurs when the surgeon places a piece of mesh that is too small or too tight. This pushes down on the rectum and causes severe constipation.

Occasionally, there will be some stretching of the mesh attachment points and constipation will improve. However, when constipation persists beyond two months, Dr. Zipper recommends surgical correction of the mesh.

Surgical correction of mesh-related constipation is accomplished by cutting one or both of the high mesh attachment points. This is a simple outpatient surgery performed through the original vaginal incision. Although there is a risk of rectal injury, this is uncommon in the hands of a skilled surgeon.

Pain
Pain is the most difficult to treat. Pain most likely secondary to how the mesh is placed and not the material itself. Pain is typically caused by mesh being too small/tight or attachment of the mesh near the pudendal nerve. It is not uncommon to have rectal and groin discomfort for several weeks following surgery. The early use of anti-inflammatory agents such as Mobic as well as special stretching techniques are often helpful. Severe pain, pain persisting beyond two months, and/or pain radiating down the leg merits more aggressive intervention by the surgeon.

Surgical correction of pain is most successful when the pain is related to tension (the mesh being too tight and pulling on the muscles and ligaments of the pelvis). Under such circumstances, the surgeon may open the original incision and cut the high attachment points of the mesh. This often leads to an immediate resolution of rectal pain, groin pain, and pain radiating down the leg. Although there is a risk of rectal injury, this is uncommon in the hands of a skilled surgeon. In cases where the mesh is not under tension, treatment of pain can be difficult. These patients may benefit from injections of the pudendal nerve and/or surgical release of an entrapped pudendal nerve. The later is performed by only a handful of surgeons across the U.S.