What is a Bladder Sling?
A bladder sling or hammock is installed through surgery to cure stress incontinence which limits a woman’s ability to effectively eliminate fluids from the bladder. The sling composed of polypropylene is implanted around the urethra thus restoring it to a more favorable spot. This surgical procedure has allowed patients to recover from bladder related issues but there is a risk of adverse effects resulting from a faulty sling. This would eventually lead to the surgical removal of the sling after it has been implanted.
What are the Possible Risks?
The bladder hammocks made from mesh bring with it a high possibility of side effects. These devices are also quite painful to install thus causing discomfort to patients. They also make urinating difficult to do. In some instances, a faulty sling can cause harm to surrounding organs or even internal bleeding. The pain can become too much to bear that patients would need several surgeries afterward to remedy the problem. Highly severe cases also occur wherein a synthetic bladder sling causes disintegration of the nearby organs. The bladder hammock can also puncture the organs which can lead to severe internal damage. There is also the possibility of the body rejecting the materials found in the sling, causing the organs to become inflamed during contact with it. Sexual intercourse becomes difficult due to the inflammation. In either scenario, surgery is needed to fix the suffering caused by the sling.
Unsightly Complications
The kind of disorder the patient has will indicate the kind of surgical procedure needed to reverse the damage. Known complications occurring from faulty mesh slings include obstruction or erosion of the urethra or fistula, injury to the bowel and bladder or even damaging blood vessels and nerves that surround the sling. A thorough examination would be essential in knowing the extent of the damage and therefore suitable surgical procedures could be performed to reverse the damage.