Women suffering from the effects of a controversial medical procedure have made an emotional plea for its immediate halt.
Some campaigners were reduced to tears as they told MSPs yesterday of their experiences of tape and mesh implants.
They included one former patient, Elaine Holmes, 49, who recounted how she had needed four operations to remove the mesh, which had been implanted in her body for a leaky bladder in 2011.
Mrs Holmes, of Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, told Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee the procedure had left her with severe nerve damage and "socially isolated".
She added: "Problems began as soon as I opened my eyes after the procedure," she said. "I've been left with severe nerve damage.
"It affects every aspect of my life because I rely on my husband for personal care, it's affected my health, my family, friends, I'm no longer active."
About 11,000 women in Scotland have had the implant procedure which aims to deal with prolapse and incontinence.
But up to one in five implants can go wrong and some doctors are said to be in denial about the dangers and consequences. There have been reports of infections and the mesh contracting, cutting through organs making it difficult to safely remove.
Committee convener David Stewart said: "This is one of the most compelling petitions we have had before us. We heard moving and indeed heart-breaking evidence from the petitioners and the committee was united in its determination to address the issue."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article