The mesh in my body is a 'ticking time bomb'

Sam Hindle has 23cm of polypropylene mesh in her body and lives in constant fear that it will become unstable and cause irreversible damage.

"You are in your own Battle Royale, strapped to a time bomb, and thinking when is it going to go off," she told the BBC.

Sam, 46, is one of hundreds of women in Scotland who have suffered life-changing symptoms since they had a transvaginal mesh implant.

After years of campaigning by the women, the Scottish government has promised it will cover the costs of mesh removal at private clinics in the UK and US.

But Sam has been waiting more than two years just for a referral to the Complex Mesh Surgical Service in Glasgow to start the process.

The Scottish government announced last year that it had signed a contract to allow NHS patients to visit a US expert for mesh removal surgery

The contract with Gynaecologic and Reconstructive Surgery of Missouri, where Dr Dionysios Veronikis operates, follows a similar contract agreed with Spire Healthcare in Bristol.

The cost of each removal procedure is estimated to be £16,000 to £23,000. But in order to access such treatment, women have to be assessed by the national service in Glasgow.

Women like Sam say there are waiting years to just get referred for assessment. With further delays for appointments and then waits for surgery.

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Source: BBC News, 2 March 2023