Boston Scientific besieged by lawsuits over gynecological mesh implants amid 60 Minutes report

As many as 48,000 lawsuits from more than 100,000 women have been lodged against Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), a US medical-device manufacturer, over its plastic gynecological mesh implants which are alleged to cause “life-altering” pain and injury, according to a “60 Minutes” report Sunday night.

The number of lawsuits involved make the effort on the part of these women the largest litigation movement since lawsuits were taken out against asbestos manufacturers in the 1990s.

Surgeons employ the gynecological mesh in a way similar to a sling to relieve urinary incontinence and to lift organs that shift after pregnancy.

But thousands of women report suffering shooting pains and feeling as if sandpaper is inside of them post the implant of the mesh, which is designed to be permanent.

“It felt like the material was pulling on the muscles and I’d get shooting pains you almost felt like there was something inside of you that was like sandpaper back and forth, every time you’d walk,” one woman told “60 Minutes.”

Doctor Michael Margolis, a witness in the lawsuits against Boston Scientific, said the width of the implants he removed had shrunk by as much as 50% and were covered in scar tissue.

The mesh is comprised of a plastic called polypropylene, which is used in packaging.

Boston Scientific originally got the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration to use Marlex, a brand of polypropylene made by a unit of Chevron Phillips. But after being concerned about the idea that Marlex was being used for medical purposes, Chevron Phillips refused to supply Boston Scientific with it.

Boston Scientific shares were down 2.4% to US$29.25 in pre-opening trade.

Story by ProactiveInvestors