Hernia Plug Lawsuit

Hernia plugs and surgical mesh patches are commonly used to repair groin, femoral, umbilical, and inguinal hernias. In recent years, thousands of injury lawsuits have been filed over severe side effects.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting hernia plug induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with a complication or needed surgery, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

Texas Man Files Hernia Plug Lawsuit

A man from Texas who was injured by two types of defective hernia plugs has filed a lawsuit (PDF) against Ethicon Inc. and C.R. Bard. He was implanted with the Bard Perfix after suffering an inguinal hernia. When his hernia returned, he had surgery to replace it with the Ethicon Proceed hernia plug. Click here to read more.

What is a Hernia?

Hernias occur when internal organs or tissues bulge out through a hole or weak spot in the body. The only way to repair a hernia is with surgery. Hernia plugs work like a “cork in a bottle” to prevent the hernia from returning and needing another surgery.

Types of Hernia Plugs

Surgeons used to hand-roll hernia plugs from a flat piece of mesh. Nowadays, most surgeons prefer to use pre-made commercial products and shape them to fit each patient. There are many types of hernia plugs — synthetic or biologic, permanent or absorbable, coated or non-coated. The body is more likely to reject a coated hernia plug.

Gore Surgical Mesh Products

Gore-Tex Soft Tissue Patch
Gore Bio-A Hernia Plug
Gore Dualmesh Biomaterial
Gore Dualmesh Plus Material
Gore Synecor Intraperitoneal Biomaterial
Gore Synecor Preperitoneal Biomaterial

What Does a Hernia Plug Look Like?

Hernia plugs come in a surprising variety of shapes and sizes. Early products like the C.R. Bard/Davol PerFix® Hernia Plug are cone-shaped, with a tapered point and mesh “petals” that can be cut to size.

C.R. Bard PerFix® Hernia Plug

One of the most original hernia plug designs is the GORE® BIO-A® Hernia Plug, a bio-absorbable implant that looks like a sea urchin, with soft mesh “spines” sticking up from a flat piece of mesh.

GORE® BIO-A® Hernia Plug

Some surgeons use a hernia plug and patch over it with a flat piece of mesh. Ethicon® PROLENE Hernia System is a “three-in-one” product that looks like a cylindrical plug between two flat mesh patches.

Mesh Plug for Groin Hernia Repair

Hernia Plug and Patch Technique

One of the most popular ways to repair a hernia is with the “Plug and Patch” technique. This involves a hernia plug and a mesh patch. The surgeon customizes the plug to fit the hernia, implants it in the patient, and stitches a mesh patch to reinforce weak tissues in the abdomen.

Risks of Using Inguinal Hernia Plugs

Plugs work like a cork in a bottle, which makes sense for hernias near the belly button (umbilical hernias) or the inner groin (femoral canal hernias). Plugs are more risky for hernias in the outer groin (inguinal hernias), where they can damage the intestines, bladder, or nerves and cause chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, or urinary problems.

Hernia Plug Benefits

Hernia plugs are are easy to implant, require smaller incisions, fewer stitches, less tissue involvement, and cause less post-operative pain for the patient than other surgeries. Using a plug decreases the risk of a hernia returning, but increases the risk of long-term side effects.

Hernia Plug Risks & Complications

Infection
Chronic pain
Adhesions (scar-tissue)
Plug migration or erosion
Organ damage
Bowel perforation
Hernia returns
Body rejects hernia plug
Sexual or urinary problems in men
Surgery

Migration of a Hernia Plug

Hernia plugs sometimes migrate — dig into nerves, erode into nearby tissues, fold up, or otherwise move out of position. Migration does not always cause complications, but it increases the odds of the hernia returning and needing another surgery. It can also trigger inflammatory responses and adhesions (scar-tissue that sticks organs together).

PerFix Recall

C.R. Bard recalled the PerFix Hernia Plug-and Patch due to a labeling error — not a safety issue. However, some patients have developed side effects like Post-Herniorrhaphy Pain Syndrome, nerve damage, chronic pain, or needed surgery.

Hernia Plug Lawsuits

C.R. Bard recalled the Kugel Hernia Plug three times between 2005 and 2007 due to the risk of serious side effects, including bowel perforations and death. In 2011, around 3,000 lawsuits were resolved with a $184 million settlement.

In recent years, dozens of lawsuits have been filed by people who were injured by other hernia plugs. Atrium Medical Corp. is facing lawsuits over C-QUR Mesh, a hernia plug coated in fish oil (Omega-3) that lawyers say triggers inflammatory allergic reactions.

Ethicon Inc. is facing lawsuits after recalling Physiomesh in Europe and Australia. It was withdrawn without a recall in the U.S. The FDA did not issue safety warnings, but a large study in Germany and Denmark found high rates of hernia recurrence and revision surgery.

Do I have a Hernia Plug Lawsuit?

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