ABOUT OBTAPE Bladder problems are quite common in women, especially one condition known as female stress urinary incontinence. There are many causes linked to the development of this condition including stress, but the fact remains that this is basically a bladder control problem that also can include extreme pain and discomfort in any woman who suffers from it. The Mentor Corporation was one of the leaders in researching and developing a product designed to help women get control over this issue, and in 2003, they received news that their product, the OBTape vaginal sling, had been approved for sale and distribution in the United States. The product sold very well in the early going, and it’s estimated that up to 35,000 women have used it. It’s given to the woman surgically, and is implanted near the wall of the urethra to help support nearby muscles and thereby the flow of urine. Consequences of using the OB Tape vaginal sling Unfortunately, only a few years had passed before the OBTape vaginal sling had to be removed from the market because of its link to serious side effects. The problem that was discovered with the OBTape vaginal sling was that unlike competing products, it was not woven into a mesh-like substance. This created an impossibility for the flow of oxygen and other nutrients through the frame and into the woman’s system, thereby leading to the development of these side effects. The consequences of using the OBTape vaginal sling included internal and on-site bleeding, extreme pain, constant discomfort, the loss of any bladder control they had gained with the use of this product and many other maladies. Even more troubling was the fact that the only way to correct this problem was to have an additional surgical procedure done to remove it from the woman’s body. Mentor Corporation Legal Claims Due to the prevalence of these problems arising in women, lawsuits began to pile up against the Mentor Corporation all over the United States. As of this writing, 22 separate lawsuits have been filed against the company because of this allegedly defective product. The next item on the legal docket is a hearing to determine if these claims should be combined into one action against the Mentor Corporation, which is a common ‘solution’ sought by a defendant in order to simplify its defense to one case instead of potentially dozens. |
