How to find out which mesh implant you received

The most reliable source is your operative report and the hospital's implant record from the day of surgery, which usually name the manufacturer, the product, and often the lot number. You have a federal right to request both from the hospital's medical records department. Billing records and records from any later revision surgery can fill gaps.

Many women who had a bladder sling or pelvic mesh placed years ago have no idea which product was used. Nobody hands you a box, and the surgery itself was often described to you in general terms like "a sling for leaking" or "support for a prolapse."

That gap matters now if you are dealing with pain, erosion, or a revision surgery. Mesh claims are brought against the company that made the specific device, so the product name is one of the first things an attorney will look for. The good news is that it is almost always written down somewhere.

Why does the specific product matter?

Pelvic mesh was made by several companies, and each one sold several different products. Lawsuits are filed against the manufacturer of the device you actually received, and the litigation history differs from company to company and product to product.

Manufacturers whose pelvic mesh products have been the subject of litigation include C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, Ethicon (part of Johnson & Johnson), American Medical Systems, Coloplast, and Cook Medical. Plaintiffs in these cases allege the devices were defectively designed or sold without adequate warnings about complications. The companies have disputed those claims.

Knowing your product does not decide whether you qualify. It simply lets an attorney evaluate your situation against the right set of facts.

What names might appear in your records?

Records often use a brand name rather than the company name. A few examples you may see:

• Bladder slings for stress urinary incontinence, the leaking that happens when you cough, laugh, or lift: TVT and TVT-O (Ethicon), Obtryx, Lynx, and Advantage (Boston Scientific), Monarc, Sparc, and MiniArc (American Medical Systems), and Aris and Altis (Coloplast).
• Prolapse mesh, used to support the bladder, uterus, or rectum after it has dropped into the vaginal wall: Prolift and Prosima (Ethicon), Avaulta and Align (Bard), Uphold and Pinnacle (Boston Scientific), Perigee, Apogee, and Elevate (American Medical Systems), and Restorelle and Exair (Coloplast).

This is not a complete list, and seeing your product on it does not mean you have a claim. It is meant to help you recognize the name when you find it.

You may also see procedure terms instead of a product name. "Midurethral sling," "retropubic sling," and "transobturator sling" (often shortened to TOT) all describe bladder slings. "Anterior repair with mesh" or "posterior repair with mesh" describe prolapse mesh placed through the vagina. "Sacrocolpopexy" describes prolapse mesh placed through the abdomen, which is a different procedure from transvaginal mesh so it helps to mention it separately when you describe your history.

Where is the product name written down?

The operative report. This is the surgeon's written account of the procedure, usually dictated the same day. It describes what was done and frequently names the device by brand.

The implant record. Hospitals track implanted devices separately from the surgeon's notes. In many operating rooms, the sticker from the product packaging, showing the product name, catalog number, and lot number, is placed directly into the chart. Some hospitals call this the implant log or device record. Newer records may also include a device identifier number assigned by the manufacturer.

Billing and insurance records. An itemized hospital bill or your insurer's explanation of benefits from the surgery date may list the device or a supply code for it. These are useful when clinical records are incomplete.

Records from later surgeries. If you have had mesh partially or fully removed, the revision surgeon's operative report and the pathology report on the removed material often describe the original device.

Your surgeon's office. The practice that performed the surgery may keep its own copy of the operative report and, in some cases, its own implant records.

How do you request your records?

Under HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, you have the right to a copy of your own medical records. Most hospitals handle requests through a department called Health Information Management or Medical Records, and many accept requests through a patient portal, by mail, or in person.

A few things make the request more likely to return what you need:

• Ask for specific documents. Request the operative report, the implant or device record, and the discharge summary for your surgery date, rather than "all records," which can take longer and still leave out the implant log.
• Give the date and the surgeon's name if you know them. An approximate year is still helpful.
• Ask for the itemized bill separately from the billing office, since it is often kept outside the medical record.

Providers generally have 30 days to respond, with one extension of up to 30 more days if they tell you in writing. They may charge a reasonable fee based on the cost of copying and sending the records.

What if the records don't name the product?

It happens, especially with surgeries from the early 2000s. Hospitals keep records for a set number of years that varies by state, and older files may have been archived offsite or, in some cases, destroyed. A hospital that has closed or merged usually transferred its records to another custodian.

If the first request comes back incomplete, there are still options:

• Ask the records department directly whether a separate implant log or supply record exists for your surgery date.
• Request records from the surgeon's office, which may have kept its own copy.
• Look at the revision surgery records if you have had mesh removed.
• Check old insurance statements, which sometimes survive when hospital files do not.

You can also ask for a case review before you have found everything. With your written authorization, an attorney's office can request records on your behalf and often knows which departments to ask.

Should you do anything to protect evidence?

If you are planning a revision or removal surgery, it helps to tell your surgeon before the procedure that you would like any removed mesh preserved. The removed material can be important evidence, and hospitals do not keep it indefinitely by default.

Keep copies of everything you receive, and write down the names of the doctors who treated your complications. A simple folder with your records, bills, and a short timeline of symptoms makes any later review faster.

Filing deadlines apply to mesh claims, and they are often measured from when you discovered the injury rather than the date of the original surgery. Our guide to how filing deadlines work explains this in more detail, and if you are still trying to understand your symptoms, our article on mesh erosion covers what that complication involves.

What to do now

Start with one request: the operative report and implant record from your surgery date. That single step answers the product question for most people.

If something is missing, or you are not sure what you are looking at, you do not need to sort it out alone before reaching out.

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Injury Advocate Group is an advertising service, not a law firm. Litigation status changes; eligibility can only be confirmed through a case review with an attorney.