The campaign to get all mesh operations suspended in Scotland has received the backing of a world expert.
The Record has told how patients who had mesh used to repair hernias had been left in agony as the substance tore into their organs and merged with their own flesh, making removal difficult.
Now, the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee has been given a submission from Shouldice Hospital in Ontario, Canada, the global leader in the surgery.
Experts stated tissue repair should be the first choice for the majority of hernias – including recurrences.
The hospital stated while surgical mesh may be necessary in some femoral and large incisional hernia repairs, “even then it should be used as a last resort, not a default”.
The submission said: “We were a pioneer in the investigation of using surgical mesh back in the 1980s and we choose not to pursue its use unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.
“We use mesh in less than two per cent of all our cases and our surgical outcomes remain the gold-standard.
"Where the body’s natural tissue is strong enough to support the surgical repair, it should always be used.”
Patient Roseanna Clarkin, 38, has led the drive to ban mesh after being left suicidal.
She said: “The mesh is compromising my nerves and sending wrong signals back to the brain.”
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