Te Whatu Ora Whanganui apologises to patient over “poor communication” after surgical mesh complications

Te Whatu Ora Whanganui has apologised to a patient who suffered from complications following multiple vaginal surgeries. Photo / Stock

Te Whatu Ora has apologised to a female patient at Whanganui Hospital who suffered from complications with surgical mesh that caused “marked pain” and urinary incontinence.

The Health and Disability Commissioner found two doctors who performed the surgeries on the patient were in breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.

The patient presented to Whanganui Hospital in 2015 as she had been experiencing stress urinary incontinence for 12 months.

A doctor performed a posterior (back wall) vaginal repair instead of an anterior (front wall) vaginal repair surgery he had outlined during the patient’s consultation, with a surgical mesh sling also implanted during the surgery.

He told the Health Disability Commission that he believed that the patient’s surgical risks were no greater than those to which she had consented originally.

Independent urologist Dr Hazel Ecclestone said the patient appeared to have undergone an operation she was not consented for, which was a “severe departure from accepted practice”.

After the initial surgery, the patient’s stress urinary incontinence returned, and she underwent a second surgery by a different doctor to repair the front vaginal wall.

However the complications continued and in 2017, she visited the Emergency Department at Whanganui Hospital as she was continually leaking urine.

Between May and October 2018, she made numerous attempts to contact both doctors for “referrals and appointments”, but was never contacted in return.

Te Whatu Ora Whanganui apologised to the patient for her experience and for the poor communication which resulted in the delay in treatment.

In 2019, the patient was examined by a urologist who found mesh erosion, and said the patient “has marked vaginal pain and seems very keen to have a removal of all mesh”.

She then underwent an operation to remove the surgical mesh.

Wall said the patient was subject to “prolonged and unnecessary suffering” because her complications were not addressed in a timely manner.

The patient told the Health Disability Commissioner that she had been in chronic pain and lost her bladder as a result of the events.

Deputy Commissioner Rose Wall stated that this case happened at a time when there was an “increasing body of knowledge emerging” about difficulties due to surgical mesh products.

There was an increasing awareness of the need for greater control and oversight of its use, she said.

“New Zealand clinicians were not, and should not have been, oblivious to this.”

In response, Te Whatu Ora has also established a specialist service centre for the treatment of women experiencing significant mesh complications.

The use of surgical mesh in surgeries has now been halted in New Zealand due to safety concerns.

Wall recommended that both doctors provide formal written apologies to the patient.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.