'Pause' has forced women abroad for surgery to treat incontinence for last seven years

Cork University Maternity Hospital (pictured) and the National Maternity Hospital offer mesh complication services. File photo

A dispute over how best to treat women suffering with incontinence has led to dozens of women travelling to Spain for surgery performed by an Irish doctor, it has emerged.

Incontinence is estimated to affect between one in two and one in three women during their lifetime. Some types of mesh surgery were paused here in 2018 due to serious safety concerns raised by women.