Kugel Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Attorneys

Serious and/or deadly medical complications can include infections, bowel obstructions, intestinal problems, possiblility of a puncture or perforation of other organs, tissues, and intestines, chronic intestinal fistulas, even death.

The Kugel Mesh Patch manufactured by Davol Inc. and sold under brand names of Bard and Composix was designed for the repair of ventral hernias which occur at natural areas of weakness in the muscle wall.  The Kugel Mesh Patch was engineered to repair weakened or torn muscle tissue and be less invasive than traditional hernia surgery.

In 1997, Dr. Robert D. Kugel received a patent for his unique mesh patch which utilized a non-invasive laparoscopic surgical procedure which no longer required the surgeon to make a large incision causing increased post surgical pain.  Instead, several small incisions were made whereby the surgeon could create small ports to introduce instruments and a camera.  During the procedure, surgeons introduce a "folded" Kugel hernia patch into the repair site which consisted of two layers of synthetic mesh surrounded by a flexible plastic "memory-recoil ring".  Once inserted, the ring is designed release to its original shape and serve as a flat substrate.

Problems with the Composix Kugel mesh patch began to surface in 2002 shortly after Davol Inc. introduced the large and extra large hernia patch.  The plastic component of the memory recoil ring began to fail due to defects in its manufacture.  Defects in these patches occurred when the weld failed on the very thin, and flexible plastic rod which was designed to form a loop.  This caused the ends of the plastic rod to spring apart and become injurous to patients.

Problems with these larger patches were originally attributed to mistakes made by doctors while performing hernia-repair surgery.  However, company tests soon revealed that the failures nearly always occurred at the spot where the ring was welded together. Eventually Davol acknowledged that there were problems with the design of some patches.  As a result, Davol began recalling specific models of the patch in 2005; recalls of other models were announced in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  Once this defect was known, the manufacturer revised the failed recoil ring.  This new ring featured increased weld strength for the ring assigned to the Composix XL size mesh.

Davol recalled these defective medical devices due to patients experiencing problems such as infections or more severe injuries including bowel obstructions, perforations and constrictions resulting from the migrating patch wrapping around the bowel. Additional injuries include chronic enteric fistulas, which refers to an abnormal connection between two epithelialized surfaces such as the gut and hollow organs, including the bladder, vagina, or other regions of the GI tract.

If you or a loved one have been injured by a Kugel Hernia Mesh product, please call our office today 800-433-8420 for a free initial consultation regarding your potential claim.