I travelled to the US and paid £19,000 to have mesh implant removed

Anne Monie is one of hundreds of Scottish women to have suffered painful, life-changing side effects from mesh implants.

She was fit and healthy when she went to her doctor with anterior prolapse and mild stress incontinence in 2010. But an operation to fit transvaginal mesh left her in agony.

With nowhere to turn for help in Scotland, the 69-year-old spent £19,000 travelling to the US to get her implant removed.

Anne spoke to BBC Scotland as the Scottish Parliament looks set to pass a bill which would see her and others reimbursed for the cost of private surgery.

That may bring financial concerns to an end - but she is by no means cured. And she worries about other women still trying to go through the mesh-removal process.

Anne was offered a simple "gold standard" transvaginal mesh procedure when she first sought medical help 12 years ago.

But after the operation to fit it, she began to suffer from a range of problems and was left in chronic pain.

After years of frustration, she paid to go to Missouri to have mesh removal surgery with world-renowned expert Dr Dionysios Veronikis.

"It's a massive amount of money to be paying out, especially when you're retired. But then, what price do you put on health?"

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Source: The Guardian, 25 January 2022