When a pharmaceutical drug or medical device is found to be unsafe, most of us would reasonably expect it to be pulled off the market immediately. After all, these products are under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. Unfortunately, change almost never occurs so quickly. Dangerous and defective products remain on the market for years after problems are discovered, and most manufacturers will spend enormous amounts of time and money denying that their products are unsafe.
This is the case with a product called transvaginal mesh, used to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women. The mesh has been on the market for about 20 years, and the FDA has known about the massive number of injuries and health problems associated with the mesh since at least 2011. Yet is was only last month that the FDA finally ordered the remaining manufacturers of transvaginal mesh to remove their products from the U.S. market.