Women borrowing up to €30k to go abroad and get vaginal mesh removed

Patient advocates told the Oireachtas committee that Irish patients injured by the deteriorating mesh are financing the full removal of their own devices abroad. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Women injured by vaginal mesh here have borrowed up to €30,000 from banks and credit unions in some cases to travel abroad to get their device removed, the Oireachtas health committee has been told.

The committee heard from the HSE, as well as patient advocacy groups Mesh Ireland and Mesh Survivors Ireland about the issues with vaginal mesh, a permanent implant inserted to treat pelvic organ prolapse as well as urinary incontinence.