Dr. John Barrett and Dr. Jonathan Oliva were hit with a lawsuit filed by a woman who sustained grievous injuries caused by the implantation of the TVT-O device.

“Our position is that the use of TOTs is not reasonable because the risk of neurological injury is not rare and the magnitude of risk is severe. Our position is supported by the literature and the 2019 position paper by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England (NICE) which states “do not offer a transobturator approach unless there are specific clinical circumstances in which the retropubic approach should be avoided” …Greg Vigna, MD, JD

On June 30, 2021, Ethicon, Inc. and two gynecologists, Dr. John Barrett and Dr. Jonathan Oliva, were hit with a lawsuit filed by a woman who sustained grievous injuries caused by the implantation of the TVT-O device, a polypropylene sling, used for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in the State of New York, Supreme Court: County of Jefferson (Index No. EF2021-00001618).

Allegations against the named physicians in the lawsuit is that the gynecologist “failed to fully disclose to Plaintiff the risks of chronic disabling pain with implantation of the TVT-O, inappropriately selecting the TVT-O because of the foreseeable risk and the magnitude of the risk of chronic disabling pain and failing to timely diagnose and treat the foreseeable complications.”

“We continue to be very selective as to the cases we accept to litigate, and the focus remains on specific neurological injuries or the symptoms that suggest groin pain following sling procedures.” — Dr. Greg Vigna

Transobturator (TOT) slings and mini-slings that insert into the obturator internus muscle produce specific neurological pain syndromes that far exceed what a reasonable consumer would anticipate for an elective procedure that is described by the manufacturers as minimally invasive. The result is irritation or injury to important nerves from adjacent muscles impacted directly by the mesh that produce catastrophic neuropathic pain syndromes that may occur acutely after implant, or months to years later.

Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, practicing physician, and Certified Life Care Planner comments on the vaginal mesh litigation and medical malpractice cases retained by his law:

“We continue to be very selective as to the cases we accept to litigate, and the focus remains on specific neurological injuries or the symptoms that suggest neurological injury that include groin pain following sling procedures. Combination medical malpractice and product cases are going forward across the country and are about severe injuries and the future care for the injured person that goes into the millions of dollars.

Our primary target is the manufacturers including Boston Scientific, Coloplast, and Ethicon, as to this day they still have not warned physicians of the risk of pudendal and obturator neuralgia from a properly placed TOT device that was described by AUGS in 2020 as ‘extrapelvic pain’ in the AUGS-IUGA Joint Position Statement on the Management of Mesh-Related Complications for the FPMRS Specialist. This article provided citations to authoritative peer-reviewed medical literature as early as 2010 that provides the mechanism of neuropathic pain caused by transobturator slings and the mechanism that leads to so-called ‘latent injuries’ that become symptomatic months after implant, and the difficulty in managing these life-altering pain syndromes.”

The Plaintiff is represented by Ben C. Martin and Laura Baughman of Martin Baughman, PLLC, and Greg Vigna, MD, JD. Ben Martin and Laura Baughman are national pharmaceutical injury attorneys in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who focuses on catastrophic injuries and the neurological injuries caused by transvaginal mesh devices including pudendal neuralgia, obturator neuralgia, ilioinguinal neuralgia, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

The Vigna Law Group targets the below transobturator (TOT) slings and mini-slings that cause pudendal and obturator neuralgia:

  • Ethicon: TVT-O, Abbrevo
  • Boston Scientific: Obtryx, Solyx
  • Coloplast: Aris, Altis

The Vigna Law Group targets the below retropubic slings that cause ilioinguinal neuralgia, pudendal neuralgia, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome:

  • Ethicon: TVT, TVT-Exact
  • Boston Scientific: Advantage Fit, Lynx
  • Coloplast: Supris

To learn more on the anatomical basis for TOT complications including obturator and pudendal neuralgia and the treatments of obturator and pudendal neuralgia visit: https://vignalawgroup.com/ebooks/pelvic-mesh-pain/#page=59

Read our FREE BOOK on Vaginal Mesh Pain.
For articles, video resources, and information visit the Pudendal Neuralgia Educational Portal or https://tvm.lifecare123.com/.

Click here for information regarding sling-related complications.

Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Vigna Law Group
1155 Coast Village Rd., Suite 3, Santa Barbara, CA
1-800-761-9206

Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Vigna Law Group
+ +1 800-761-9206
email us here