Over the past few weeks, the Canadian Television Network (CTV) has been reporting a number of stories on patients who have suffered due to the effects of mesh devices used to repair hernia injuries.

In one report, a woman from Ontario has found herself unable to work because of debilitating pain caused by her PerFix mesh plug, used to repair a hernia in her groin. Because it is close to her femoral artery, doctors are unable to remove the device without risking the patient’s life.

In March, CTV published a report on a number of Canadian hernia patients who have started a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon over the Physiomesh Flexible Composite Mesh, which was recalled in 2016 because of high rates of complications. In both cases, plaintiffs allege that the companies responsible for these devices were aware of the potential problems and deliberately withheld this information from the medical community and health care consumers.

Since the turn of the current century, Health Canada has identified a dozen different hernia mesh brands that have since been taken off the Canadian market. Infections and perforations were the most common side effects. At least three patients have died from complications linked to the device.

While data indicates that mesh patches can help many patients, Dr. John Morrison of the Canadian Hernia Society believes that, in light of current evidence, the mesh being used for treating hernias is being used too frequently. Dr. Morrison, who specializes in hernia mesh removal, points out that as many as one out of every five patients treated with a hernia mesh will experience severe problems.

Unfortunately, the issue is likely to become more common. Morrison says hernia mesh complications have become an “epidemic…there’s no end in sight, because almost all hernias are now repaired with mesh.” He recommends that patients educate themselves on risks if their doctors are considering the use of a hernia mesh, and “ask their surgeon if they’re going to be using mesh…exactly what type of hernia they have, [and] why the mesh is being used.”

Considering the similarity between the hernia mesh and the pelvic mesh that has also been the cause of action in hundreds of lawsuits, it is difficult to believe that the medical device manufacturers responsible for the product were unaware of the dangers. Both devices can cause perforations, infections and excruciating, chronic pain. Both are known to erode into adjoining tissues, making surgical removal difficult and even impossible.

In 2016, Ethicon’s parent company wound up paying out $120 million in settlements to women affected by the pelvic mesh – and is still facing another 42,000 plaintiffs with the same cause of action. Yet, for some reason known only to Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon chose to go ahead with development and marketing of an equally dangerous product.

Considering that 30,000 Canadian patients have undergone repairs with the Ethicon hernia mesh, it appears that Ethicon’s legal problems will only get bigger – as will those of Bard Medical, which has also been named a defendant in an earlier class action lawsuit in that country.