#Synthetic sling implant

[txhospitals123]

Effective Urethral Sling Procedure for Male Urinary Incontinence Treatment at TX Hospitals Hyderabad

Urethral sling procedures are safe and effective surgical treatment options for male urinary incontinence. Consult the best surgeons at TX Hospitals Hyderabad for synthetic sling implant and other advanced treatment options.

[siddhidheniya]

Female Health: Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment in Jodhpur

In today's fast-paced world, women's health often takes a backseat. However, it's crucial to prioritize self-care and address any health concerns promptly. Jodhpur, a vibrant city in Rajasthan, boasts a growing network of healthcare providers dedicated to women's well-being. This blog post will delve into three common women's health issues and its treatment– stress urinary incontinence treatment in Jodhpur, treatment for vaginal itching in Jodhpur, and female orgasmic disorder treatment in Jodhpur – and explore the available treatment options in Jodhpur.

Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment In Jodhpur

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when urine leaks involuntarily during activities that increase abdominal pressure, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising. This condition can significantly impact a woman's quality of life, leading to embarrassment, social isolation, and decreased self-esteem.

Options for stress urinary incontinence treatment in Jodhpur, are as follows: 

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: This non-invasive approach involves exercises and techniques to strengthen and coordinate the pelvic floor muscles, helping to improve bladder control. Pelvic floor physical therapists in Jodhpur are skilled in providing personalized treatment plans tailored to individual needs.

Lifestyle Modifications: Weight management, bladder training, and avoiding irritants can often alleviate symptoms. Bladder training involves gradually increasing the intervals between urination and reducing fluid intake before bedtime.

Medication: In some cases, medications can help relax the bladder muscles and reduce leakage. These medications may include alpha-blockers or anticholinergics.

Surgery: For severe cases, surgical procedures like sling surgery or urethral bulking agents may be considered. Sling surgery involves implanting a synthetic mesh sling to support the urethra, while urethral bulking agents involve injecting a substance into the urethra to improve its closure.

Treatment For Vaginal Itching In Jodhpur: A Discomforting Symptom

Vaginal itching can be caused by various factors, including infections, allergies, hormonal changes, or irritation from certain products. It can be a distressing symptom that affects both physical and emotional well-being.

Options of treatment for vaginal itching in Jodhpur are: 

Over-the-Counter Remedies: Topical creams or ointments can provide temporary relief from itching and dryness. However, it's essential to consult a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis to avoid self-medication.

Medical Consultation: If the itching persists or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as discharge, pain, or burning, it's essential to consult a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Prescription Medications: Depending on the underlying cause, antibiotics, antifungals, or corticosteroids may be prescribed. For example, bacterial infections may require antibiotics, while fungal infections may be treated with antifungals.

Female Orgasmic Disorder Treatment In Jodhpur: 

Female orgasmic disorder (FOD) is a sexual dysfunction characterized by difficulty or inability to achieve orgasm. It can arise from a variety of factors, including physical, psychological, or relationship issues.

Options for female orgasmic disorder treatment in Jodhpur are as follows

Therapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and sex therapy can help address psychological factors contributing to FOD. CBT can help individuals identify and challenge negative thoughts or beliefs about sex and sexuality.

Medical Evaluation: Underlying medical conditions that may affect sexual function, such as hormonal imbalances or neurological disorders, should be assessed. Hormonal imbalances can be addressed through hormone therapy, while neurological conditions may require specialized treatment.

Hormone Therapy: In some cases, hormone therapy may be helpful, especially if hormonal imbalances are contributing to FOD. However, hormone therapy should be prescribed by a healthcare provider after careful evaluation.

Additional Considerations

Preventive Measures: Regular pelvic exams, maintaining good hygiene, and practicing safe sex can help prevent many women's health issues.

Seeking Support: Talking to friends, family, or a support group can provide emotional support and reduce feelings of isolation.

Choosing a Healthcare Provider: When selecting a healthcare provider in Jodhpur, consider factors such as experience, credentials, and patient reviews.

Conclusion

Women's health is a complex and multifaceted issue, and it's essential to seek appropriate care for any concerns that arise. Jodhpur offers a range of healthcare providers and options for stress urinary incontinence treatment in Jodhpur, treatment for vaginal itching in Jodhpur, and female orgasmic disorder treatment in Jodhpur. By prioritizing self-care and seeking professional guidance, women can improve their overall well-being and live fulfilling lives.

[srksworld]

Biotextile In Medical Science

https://technologyinlifeblog.com/biotextile-in-medical-science/

Biotextiles are impracticable, lasting, or short-lived, fibrous textile structures created from common materials. Biotextiles are used in biological environments. Biotextile in medical science can make a revolution in healthcare. It is used as a medical device for the prevention, treatment, or diagnosis of an injury or disease. It serves the patient to improve health, medical condition, comfort, and wellness. For making this product there is a hierarchy of developing structure. Engineering structure maintains their physical, mechanical, and chemical performance at the assembly levels. Most Biotextiles products can be fabricated using established textile industry technologies. Biotextiles, also familiar as medical biomedical textiles, are a segment of textile materials. We found various applications in the field of medical treatment. These textiles are specially designed and made to associate with the human body in a way that promotes healing, comfort, and safety, these textiles are specially designed and manufactured.

Difference between ‘Biotextiles’ and ‘Medical textiles

We can see medical textiles as products that are used outside the body, not in contact with circulating blood. Examples of medical textiles are dressing, eye patches, women’s hygiene products, bandages, all kinds of diapers, incontinence pads, slings, gauze pads, finger cots, and external casting, brace and support, the latter used to control pain or limit movement caused by such diseases as arthritis, back pain, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendinitis, are all medical textiles.

Contrasted with biotextiles products have certain uses inside the body or in connection with circulating blood or body fluids. Biotextile products need to perform within a relatively belligerent biological environment. Examples of biotextile products are grafts, heart valves, hernia and prolapse repair meshes, heart device supports, and prosthetic ligaments and tendons.

Biotextile In Medical Science

Wound Dressing-( SF-PVA): SF is the most important medical biotextile material used in wound dressing applications. Naturally derived biomaterials such as SF protein are produced by spiders, silkworms, honeybees, wasps, and lacewings. PVA is a synthetic polymer that is soluble in water, nontoxic, and semicrystalline. It has been applied in several advanced biomedical applications, including wound dressings, drug delivery systems, artificial organs, and contact lenses. PVA is a synthetic polymer that is soluble in water, nontoxic, and semicrystalline. It has been applied in several advanced biomedical applications, including wound dressings, drug delivery systems, artificial organs, and contact lenses. It is biocompatible and has good gas barrier properties, high strength, flexibility, and excellent membrane-forming properties together with high thermal stability, making it an effective polymer for use in wound dressing applications.

Resorbable Polymers: The main purpose of using a resorbable biotextile is to repair the activities of infected tissue. It is only used for temporary support. Example of using resorbable polymers is glycolic and lactic acid polymers.

Nano Coating: Nano coating is used for precision work in medical science. Nano-coating products in biot textiles can be of different compositions. Such products range from 10 nanometers to 100 nanometers. Such nano-coting products are used in various materials. For example: bio-filtration, medical garments, medical fabrics, textile implants, and textile substrates.

Drug Delivery Systems: The drug delivery system is the most important of textiles. It is related to their drug-loading and release control capacity. For DDS, a combination of pharmaceutical technologies and textiles is very effective. for example, microspheres, microencapsules, nanoparticles, liposomes, β-cyclodextrin complexes, lipid complexes, nanosuspensions, etc.

Retrieval studies for medical Biotextiles

When a bio textile device is used for different types of treatment it should be calculated its efectivness. For example, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of a biotextile structure performance as a heart valve leaflet.

The unique characteristics of textiles, like biocompatibility, durability, and the ability to control factors like moisture and drug release, make them valuable in various medical applications. Present research and development in the field of textiles continue to increase their use in the medical industry to improve patient care and outcomes.

[silvokrent]

Slings and Arrows

Some wrongs cannot be righted. It’s a lesson Pietro learns a lifetime too late.

[The rise and fall of Dr. Arthur Watts, M.D., PhD.]

“Phase-II trial of Auratic synthesis, test number—” The rustle of papers was followed by a sigh. “—test number sixty-four. Initiating.”

The monitor on his desk whirred to life. Pietro watched the numbers on the holographic screen climb as the program ran the simulation. Thirty seconds without anomalies. A minute. He knew better than to get his hopes up, but the longer the systems operated without rejection, the harder it was to suppress the mutinous optimism at the back of his head. Maybe, this time, he’d finally found the right—

The monitor let out a dejected-sounding beep, and the screen flashed.

Insufficient variables. Analysis results too unstable for implantation.

Only when he slumped back in his seat did Pietro realize how tightly he’d been gripping the arms of the chair. He tapped at his scroll and activated the audio function.

“Test number sixty-four was unsuccessful. The simulated Aura was deemed too structurally unstable to survive grafting to a biotechnic lattice. Recommend recalibrating the values for ω, λ, and ρ to increase viability. Describe what mistakes were made.” Pietro contemplated the scroll in his hand, before lifting it to his face and smacking it into his forehead. Repeatedly. “My mistake was deciding to pursue a degree in bioengineering, followed by the even bigger mistake of my alma mater handing me a diploma. All other setbacks are incidental. End recording.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Pietro called up the diagram from earlier. The hologram cast his office in various shades of blue light that, while it had a calming effect on him, unveiled the minefield of loose papers, folders, and post-it notes that had become his workspace.

For a moment, he considered setting aside a day in his schedule to reorganize his desk. Only when he couldn’t find his calendar did he remember why it had gotten so bad in the first place.

His calendar was buried somewhere underneath.

Brokenly, Pietro stared at the untamed bed of chaos before him. On one hand, he needed to clean his desk. On the other hand, incineration was faster, and the chemistry lab had a blowtorch.

“You look desperately in need of this,” said a voice from behind.

The unexpected drawl startled Pietro out of his thoughts. He swiveled around in his chair to the sight of Arthur Watts leaning against the doorframe, a steaming mug in each hand. Judging by the amused smirk, he’d been there for some time.

“Arthur!” Pietro minimized the program with a wave of his hand. “I didn’t even hear you come in.”

His friend stepped inside and carefully kicked the door shut with his heel. He strode across the room and reclined into the vacant chair opposite of him, ankle propped on his knee. He held out the second mug. “Kuo Kuana roast. Extra cream, and enough sugar to give you every cardiovascular disease known to man.”

Pietro accepted the offered drink, and for a moment simply held it to his face. The aromatic scent was blue water and white sand, and it never failed to make him nostalgic for the coast. He let out a long, quiet exhale that took some of the tension from his shoulders.

“Thank you,” he said, “but how did you—?”

“I saw the lights on under the door and took an educated guess,” Watts said. He took a draught from his own mug before continuing: “The janitors left at the end of the day, and no one else is unhinged enough to stay after hours.”

Pietro arched a brow. “Apart from you?”

Watts snorted. “I had a meeting that I couldn’t reschedule.”

“At ten o’clock at night?”

“I made the mistake of postponing one too many times. They couldn’t be dissuaded.”

They lapsed into companionable silence. Pietro indulged in his coffee while Watts picked up a folder and flipped through it at random.

The company was a welcome respite, and not just because it came bearing gifts.

Their office arrangement had started off rather unextraordinarily, all things considered. Handing off paperwork, returning a piece of equipment, passing along department memos—the sort of banal normalcy one would expect between colleagues. Pietro hadn’t begrudged the unexpected interruptions from Watts (quite the opposite, in fact), and Watts never protested when Pietro ventured into his space long enough to drop something off.

Only a few months after becoming acquainted did Pietro notice the shift in their interactions. It had been subtle at first: an animated conversation during a faculty meeting that led to Pietro following Watts back to his office to continue the topic. A request from Watts for a second opinion on a patient chart, which led to Watts loitering in Pietro’s office long after he’d humored him. A day where Watts had cleared his schedule to allow Pietro to vent about his latest experiment following an incident in the labs.

It hadn’t taken long for the intrusions to devolve from legitimate reasons to half-contrived pretenses. The reed that broke the Dromedon’s back had been a memorable afternoon where Pietro’s office door swung open, and Watts—bag strap slung around one arm, a stack of documents tucked under the other—announced that he needed somewhere to hide from his interns, and no one would think to look for him here.

There were, admittedly, more unconventional ways to start a friendship, though Pietro hardly minded. Especially not after Watts had treated him to dinner as an apology for the inconvenience.

It was an aspect of their relationship Pietro was both fond of and deeply appreciated, though he was tactful enough to not comment on it aloud. Watts wasn’t exactly the sentimental type. (Though the steaming mug in his hand begged to differ.)

He watched as the other man returned the folder to its original spot in exchange for a file.

“No luck, I take it?” The question was as much rhetorical as it was a tacit invitation to brainstorm. Pietro gladly accepted.

“I had a thought after yesterday’s meeting: ‘What if it’s quantitative rather than permutational? Maybe we only need to adjust the inputs rather than the sequence.’” He shot a rueful glance at the monitor. “You can imagine how that went. It feels like the answer’s staring right at me and I’m too stupid to see it.”

“If you were stupid”—Watts turned the page, not bothering to look up—“we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation.” He took another sip from his mug. “Sleep-deprived, on the other hand…”

“Can you blame me?” Pietro asked.

This time, Watts did look up.

“We’ve been at this for six months and have nothing to show for it. We’re running out of time.”

Watts set the file down. “James never stipulated a deadline,” he murmured.

“No,” Pietro agreed, “but he’s not the only person we have to justify ourselves to.”

“If this is about the lien, I wouldn’t fret. As long as our funding comes from the military, they’re not going to pull the plug.”

Pietro frowned at the drink in his hands, at the contemplative reflection that mirrored his own. “James may have greenlit the project, but that doesn’t change the fact that the military budget comes from tax revenue. The other councilors get a say in how that money is allocated. And if they think our research is a waste of public resources…”

An uneasy quiet fell between them, and it was telling that Watts didn’t immediately refute him or attempt to assuage his concerns.

For lack of anything constructive to say, Pietro sighed. “For thousands of years we consumed willow bark as an analgesic. When people learned that salicin was the culprit, a chemist learned how to make it from scratch. Pharmacies around the world now manufacture and distribute that medication to millions of people.” He leaned back into his seat. “How is it that we figured out how to make an artificial compound, but we can’t figure out how to make an artificial Aura?”

“Well—” Watts motioned with his drink in a vague sort of gesture. “That might have something to do with acetylsalicylic acid being a synthetic chemical, and Aura being the manifestation of the soul. They’re not exactly analogous.” He stroked his chin. “It would also be remiss of me not to point out that up until a few centuries ago, pneumatophysicists were regularly executed for heresy. It’s not as if we have the breakthroughs of our predecessors to build upon.”

A weak, self-deprecating laugh escaped him. Reflexively, Pietro combed through his hair.

“It’s frustrating, isn’t it?” Frustrating might have been putting it charitably. Pietro still had half a mind to fetch that blowtorch.

A knowing look crept across his handsome features, though Watts deigned only to shrug in response. Obstacles and setbacks were held in a similar estimation to success; they seldom bothered him. Nonetheless, he offered, perhaps by way of consolation, “Nothing worth doing is ever easy.”

“I’m not looking for easy. I’m looking for possible,” said Pietro, “and right now, we’ve hit a dead end.”

The holographic diagram from earlier rematerialized over his desk—a simulated Aura field superimposed atop the three-dimensional render of an android. He parsed through the accompanying schematics with a wave of his hand, calling forth and highlighting relevant segments of data.

“We know that Aura is related to the sum product of a person’s neurological pathways, because it’s the same system responsible for generating consciousness.” Pietro activated the synaptic filter. A branching web of neurons lit up the hologram in tandem with the Aura field. “Here’s the problem. Functionally and behaviorally they’re similar, so you’d think replicating one system would mean the simultaneous generation of the other, right? But it doesn’t work like that.” His brow furrowed. “Not only is Aura’s reliance on this system facultative, but it verges on metaphysical. It means that we’re missing something. You can break down the physiology of the CNS and PNS into all the various electrochemical signals, but the second you try to do the same thing with Aura—”

He dismissed the hologram with a flick of his wrist, and slumped in his chair.

“I’m starting to think James picked the wrong proposal,” he quietly admitted. “At least yours didn’t hinge on reconciling a decades-long conflict between pneumatophysical models and—”

“Self-pity doesn’t become you.”

The brusque statement startled Pietro out of his rambling. It only took a second of being subjected to Watts’ flat, unimpressed stare before Pietro ducked his head.

Watts snorted under his breath. “For better or worse, the general picked your proposal. You have an obligation to not fail, so I suggest you pull yourself together.”

Embarrassment quickly faded to mild annoyance. “You’re as sobering as a cold shower. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Watts’ expression softened. “Sometimes a little cold helps to clear the head.” There was thoughtful pause before he unhooked his ankle and leaned forward, elbows braced against his legs. “You know,” he began, “success isn’t always contingent on understanding.”

Coming from the man who actively condemned ignorance, that surprised him. Pietro stilled with the mug halfway to his lips. “True,” he conceded, lowering the coffee back to his lap. “But I don’t think we’re in a position to trip over the answer like it’s a sleeping cat.”

Another pause followed, longer than the one that preceded it.

“What if we had a way to circumvent it?”

“What do you mean?”

With a soft thunk Watts set his mug on the desk. “Your proposal requires grafting an Aura onto a mechanical vessel. It never specified where that Aura came from,” he said. “Whether it was artificially created…or acquired from somewhere else.”

He laced his fingers together.

“Someone else, perhaps.”

He’d been told more than once that he had a terrible poker face. Clearly that hadn’t changed, if the way Watts pursed his lips was anything to go by.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. I’m not suggesting we go abduct people and harvest their organs in a back alley.” He rolled his eyes. “I would hope you’d have a somewhat higher opinion of me.”

“You have a way with words, Arthur. A questionable and slightly terrifying way with them.” Pietro fidgeted with his tie. “Let’s, for the moment, ignore all of the potential obstacles involved. Like receiving an extension on our funding to cover any unanticipated costs. Or getting approval from the Atlesian Ethics Committee to perform an unregulated and untested surgery on a patient. Or even finding a candidate who would willingly consent to such a procedure. Even if we hypothetically resolved all of those issues, we’d still be left with a problem.”

“Only the one?” asked Watts. He arched a slender brow. “Very well, I’ll bite. Enlighten me.”

Another frown tugged at his lips. “Even if we found a way to perform such a surgery, removing even a fraction could be fatal. You can’t survive without Aura.”

“That’s not, strictly speaking, true.” The mug had made its way back into his hand. Watts idly traced the rim with a finger. “I’ve treated patients with Chronic Aura Degradation before. It’s not uncommon to see cases where up to 45% of the Aura was eroded. And in every one of those cases, the patient survived with weekly EMF-DS therapy.”

Pietro shook his head. “You, better than anyone, know that ‘survived’ isn’t the same thing as ‘cured.’”

“Of course not,” he agreed. “Forgive me if I insinuated otherwise. I only meant that regular treatments resulted in a negligible impact on their quality of life.”

“I’m not denying that.” Only when Watts stilled his hand, and began circling the rim in the opposite direction, did Pietro realize he was staring. He snapped his head up and cleared his throat. “But that’s an archotheronotic disease. You’re talking about using Auratic intercision to create a manmade version of CAD. There’s no telling what that would do to the donor, or if the amount of Aura donated would even be enough to sustain an entirely new person.”

Watts conceded with a sigh. “It’s just a thought.”

It wasn’t the most outlandish thing Pietro had heard—the staff breakroom regularly churned out weirder ideas on a weekly basis, and gods knew he’d contributed to quite a few of those himself.

Still…

“I’m not opposed to alternatives,” he replied at last, “but I can’t imagine anyone condoning a surgery that mimics a Grimm-based illness. The controversy alone would be a nightmare.” He rubbed at his eyes. “Though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.”

Watts made a noncommittal noise as he stood.

“Scientific progress has always been controversial. What matters is how we deal with it.” He lightly clapped a hand on Pietro’s shoulder. The residual warmth from the mug lingered; it was oddly soothing. “Do me a favor, and try to get some rest?” He smirked, and the hand retreated. “Sleep on my suggestion. See if you’re not better disposed to it in the morning.”

Pietro sipped at his coffee, eyes crinkled in amusement. “I’ll pass on the sleep for now.” He motioned with the cup. “Keep these coming though and you might just persuade me.”

Watts let out a low chuckle. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned on his heel for the door, tossing a parting glance over his shoulder. “Good night, Pietro.”

Pietro smiled into his drink. “Good night, Arthur.”

“—has to be something we haven’t thought of yet.”

“We could give the pneumatograph another go. Run the Dust vortex generator with different configurations.”

“And waste more Dust in the process. Repeating the same tests isn’t going to get us any closer to generating an Aura.”

“Okay. Well, what about Grimm exposure trials? We could map out field fluctuations and look for any biopenumatic discrepancies.”

“After what happened last time? We’d be lucky if the Grimmoire loaned us a bloody paperclip, let alone a Boarbatusk. Try again.”

Will pulled a face as he crossed out a line on the clipboard, before tossing the pen back to Watts. He cast the cages lining the wall a glum look. “I guess we could go back to rodent models,” he said.

The mice Pietro was feeding began to squeakily protest. He lapsed into momentary silence before agreeing, though not without some reluctance. “It couldn’t hurt.” Not in the technical sense, anyway. But if the thought of their work regressing back to animal trials didn’t sting a little. Given the dwindling list of alternatives, however, he wasn’t about to object.

One of the mice nosed at his hand, and Pietro obligingly scratched it between the ears. “I’ll fill out the requisition forms. It shouldn’t take more than a day to get the approval.”

“As long as the technicians remember to give us an Aura-active batch,” Will added. “Last time they forgot.”

Their conversation petered out, replaced by the high-pitched din of the mice and the clink of the pellets in their food bowls. Pietro sealed the latch on the enclosure and placed the dispenser on the nearby counter, thinking.

“Even in a worst-case scenario, if the rodent models end up not working out, we could always repurpose our findings for later studies. Once the Penny Project is over”—though whether or not they succeeded, he chose not to theorize on—“if we can get the grant money for it, well, who knows? Apothymetics is relatively uncharted territory, and it’d be a shame to see all those mice go to waste…”

Watts slowly lowered the chart in his hands, and pinned him with the full intensity of his stare. “You want to run tests…on the mice…to see if you can unlock their Semblances,” he said. He broke apart his sentence as if he were running it through a translator.

Pietro shrugged. “It’s theoretically possible. If an animal can unlock an Aura, by extension it should be able to acquire a Semblance. Haven’t you ever wondered what that would look like?”

Sometimes, he liked asking questions because it was fun to speculate on the possibilities of the hypothetical. Sometimes, he liked asking questions because it was fun to see what sort of face his friend would make. Watts had yet to disappoint.

He watched with delight as Watts squinted his eyes, as if the mere idea were an affront to common decency. “No,” he said, “I haven’t wondered what that would look like. Perhaps my imagination isn’t as vivid as yours, but I’d rather not contemplate the horror of a 700-kilogram polar bear learning how to run at Mach 1, let alone a lab rat.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Arthur,” Will chimed in, in a voice far too casual to be anything but. “Think of all the possibilities. Telekinetic service dogs. Self-cloning chickens.”

“We could solve world hunger,” Pietro said. This time he was unable to suppress a grin.

It took a second for Watts to register the look on his face; his expression evened out, and he let out a loud sigh. “Stop enabling him, Will. He doesn’t need a co-conspirator.”

“I thought you were my co-conspirator,” said Pietro, feigning a look of wounded betrayal.

“No. I’m your impulse control. And I seem to doing a rather poor job as of late.” Watts jotted something on the chart in his hands, his brow momentarily furrowed in concentration. “Those mice are supposed to be euthanized anyway. I doubt they’d let you repurpose them for another project, even if you pitched it as a financial incentive.”

Pietro considered. “I can be persuasive.”

“That’s what concerns me.”

Will set the clipboard next to the dispenser and leaned back, his amusement tempered with intrigue. “I know you were kidding—mostly—but eventually, someone else is going to ask the same question, and they won’t be. Sooner or later, it’s going to be proven or disproven.”

“With any luck, they’ll disprove it,” Watts replied. “It’s already bad enough when people unlock their Semblances.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Huntsmen need those.”

“Huntsmen, certainly. Their line of work requires it.” Watts glanced up from the chart. “The average person, on the other hand, would frankly be better off without.”

“Come off it, Arthur. I know we’re supposed be scientists and demystifying this stuff, but…” Will shrugged. “You can’t deny that it’s a little exciting for someone to try and imagine what their Semblance might be.”

“Oh, no, you’re absolutely right. It’s very exciting when someone with no training accidentally unlocks their Semblance, only to discover they now wield the power of fire, and proceed to give themselves a second-degree burn.” He clicked the pen, and pocketed it in the folds of his lab coat. “That was last Tuesday, by the way.”

Will crossed his arms. “I take it you wouldn’t want to find out what yours is?”

“If I was going to do something that permanent and that irrationally stupid, I’d get a tattoo on my left—”

A scroll dinged. Will jumped like a tasered cat, and fished through his pockets until he found it. “It’s Meg.” The sudden tension eased from his shoulders as his eyes darted over the screen. “She just wanted to let me know how the appointment went.”

Pietro’s eyes lit up. “How is she?”

“Good. She’s due in another nine weeks.” Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from his scroll. “Since I need to call her, now seems like as good a time as any to take a lunch break.” He started for the door. “I’m heading to the cafeteria. Do either of you want anything?”

“Pastrami on rye. Toasted,” Watts called after him.

“If they have any tuna salad left, I wouldn’t say no,” Pietro added.

Will gave a parting wave as he slipped out the door, the scroll already held to his face.

There was a brief silence, filled by the squeaks of tiny mice.

“So.” Pietro side-eyed the other man. “Where did you say you were putting that tattoo?”

Watts swatted him with the chart.

With nothing else to distract them for the time being, Pietro dug out his scroll and consulted his schedule.

“Busy this afternoon?” Watts prompted.

“Nothing too exciting. The hospital wants me to review some patient files and see if I’d be willing to consult on them. And around three I’ve got an appointment with a new client needing cybernetic optimal implants. The insurance company approved her for a fully-integrated interface, similar to the model James has.”

“Which reminds me…” Watts turned his attention to his own scroll. “I need to notify him about his follow-up. His prostheses are due for inspection.”

“Good luck getting him out of his office.” At his inquiring look, Pietro elaborated: “The Vytal Festival’s next month. He’s been busy overseeing the travel arrangements for his students.”

“Damn it. I forgot that was coming up.” Watts pinched the bridge of his nose, before skimming back over his calendar. “Well, at least I’ll have one appointment today that won’t be akin to pulling teeth.”

“Oh?”

“A new client by the name of Rainart. It seems he needs treatment for acute Dust poisoning.”

“Collier?”

“He didn’t say.”

Pietro tagged a file on his scroll and dismissed it from the queue. “We’ll need to meet with the rest of the team and make sure our schedules are coordinated,” he stated. “I think tomorrow would—”

“Hold on.” He hadn’t realized Watts was reading over his shoulder, and didn’t register the proximity until he felt a puff of air on the side of his neck. The sudden presence startled him. “Go back to the last tab.”

He shot him a puzzled look, but obliged him all the same. “This one?” He tapped the screen and enlarged it.

“Why did you pass on this case?” asked Watts.

Pietro peered at the text. “‘Name: Mia Atelier. Age: 19. Patient is in a hypothermia-induced coma and has been unresponsive to all attempts to resuscitate.’” He frowned. “There’s nothing I can do that the hospital staff haven’t already tried, I’m afraid.”

Watts took a step back, his eyes narrowed. After a moment he returned to his scroll. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Phase-II trial of Auratic synthesis, test number seventy-one. Initiating.”

The monitor gave a powerful thrum as the simulation booted up. Other than the pneumatic hiss of the internal fans, their silence was uninterrupted. A hand reassuringly squeezed his shoulder, though Pietro didn’t bother to find out whose it was. He didn’t dare look away.

As quickly as it began, the program aborted. An all-too familiar error message flashed counterpoint to the readouts on the screen.

The team let out a collective sigh.

Pietro willed himself through the motion of activating the audio function on his scroll.

“Test number seventy-one was unsuccessful. The recalibrations based on the gravid murine analysis didn’t provide the missing variable for the Aura simulation. It’s possible that the in-utero pneumatographic scans failed to identify the unknown factors necessary for generating and implanting an Aura. Recommendations for subsequent tests are…” It dawned on him midway through that he didn’t know where to go next. “…The team will reconvene to discuss further options. End recording,” he finished.

For lack of anything better to do, Pietro buried his face in his hand. Around him the voices of his colleagues stirred, their chatter sounding strangely far away.

“I really thought we had it that time.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. We modeled it after a gestating animal. What the hell could we have possibly missed?”

“Maybe the issue is what we’re modeling. What if we replicated the scans on a more complex organism?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure the guys in obstetrics would love that. ‘Can we borrow one of your patients for nine months? We just want to run some non-invasive tests.’”

“Hey, Will, how do you feel about offering up your firstborn child in the name of science?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“Well, what do you suggest we do?”

“I suggest we go down to the pub on Baker Street and put our funding to good use.”

“Pretty sure you’re supposed to do that after you succeed, not before.”

“What about you, Arthur? You’re being unusually quiet.”

Pietro peered up from between his fingers to where Watts stood, inspecting the hologram of the simulated Aura field. Light from the projection struck the side of his face, carving out the angles in shadows.

“I think,” he said, “we should consider alternatives.”

It wasn’t an opinion shared by the majority of the faculty, but Pietro liked the distance between the buildings.

Admittedly, there were drawbacks to the layout. For example, when back-to-back classes were scheduled on opposite sides of the campus, it was fairly common to see students and professors alike sprinting between lecture halls.

Personally, Pietro enjoyed the sweeping courtyards. The altitude of the city meant a steady supply of brisk air, along with an unobstructed view of the stars that no amount of light pollution could diminish. If nothing else, the long walk between buildings gave him a chance to declutter his thoughts after hours spent cooped up in his office. Given the excuse, he gladly jumped at any opportunity to walk the grounds.

Not that he really needed the excuse, he mused, as he approached Watts’ office.

Pietro went to knock, only to be stilled by a snippet of conversation that filtered through the door.

“—understand your concerns. Rest assured, the surgical theater is still reserved for then. I spoke with the administrator at the medical center this morning, and received confirmation for the private transport. Everything else has been taken care of.”

Pietro was careful not to cause too much of a disturbance as he slipped into the chair across from him. Watts greeted him with a nod, before turning his attention back to the call.

“Certainly. We can discuss your daughter’s treatment plan afterward. I’d rather not burden you with undue stress in the meanwhile. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

He set aside the scroll on his desk. “You’re here earlier than usual,” he noted. “Either something went extremely well, or horribly wrong. Which was it?”

“Depends on how you look at it.” The joints in his shoulder popped as Pietro stretched. “Remember those parts I ordered? The shipment was delayed another week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I presume there’s a silver lining?”

“Well,” he said, “the original plan was to spend the next three days working on the rotary cannon for the Colossus prototype. But seeing as that’s no longer possible…” He leaned forward, hands clapped on his knees. “I know you’re not usually a fan of ‘that hideous blood sport,’ but the doubles rounds start tonight and the matches have been pretty good so far. Everyone’s getting together later in the staff breakroom to watch. The betting pool this year is pretty sizable, too.” He offered a sheepish grin. “Not that I would know anything about that.”

Watts smirked. “Of course not.”

“But—if you’re still opposed to watching the Tournament—” Pietro shrugged. “My weekend’s free. We could make plans to do something. If you’re interested.”

Watts inclined his head, green eyes half-lidded in thought. After a pause he averted his gaze to his hands, neatly folding them atop one another. “As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, I have a flight this evening. I’ll be out of the capital for a day or two.”

That caught him off-guard. “You didn’t tell me you were heading down to Mantle.”

“That’s because I’m not. I’m heading to Argus.”

“You’re leaving the country?”

“Hardly. With how much the city relies on trade with Atlas, it might as well be part of the kingdom.” He dismissively waved his hand. “But, yes. I’m overseeing a procedure there.”

It took Pietro a moment to conceal his disappointment behind a consolatory smile. “Well, what can you do.” He scoured his brain for any recent mention of traveling during the last few conversations, and surprisingly drew a blank. “I’m guessing this was last-second on your part. A new patient, I take it?”

“Something to that effect.”

“Well”—Pietro hopped to his feet—“if you’ve got an airship to catch then I won’t hold you up. I’m sure you want to get out of here and pack.” He quirked a brow. “Just so you know, I’ll be very upset if you don’t bring me back a souvenir.”

Watts rolled his eyes. “I’ll stop at the hospital gift shop on my way out,” he drawled, without a hint of sincerity.

Pietro laughed. “I’ll hold you to it.”

He made it as far as the threshold when a voice called him back: “Pietro.”

Watts was shuffling a stack of papers on his desk—a pointless gesture, with how meticulous his workspace already was. He spoke without meeting his gaze: “When I return, I’d like to discuss some ideas I had for your project. I might have found a solution.”

His pulse quickened. “Are you—are you sure?” Pietro asked.

The rearranged stack was pushed off to the side. “I will be after tomorrow.”

When he got the news a week later, Pietro stared out his office window, and didn’t move for a long time.

“That girl’s blood is on your hands.”

“Don’t you dare say I took a choice away from her.”

Pietro hesitated outside the imposing metal doors. Announcing his presence would have been the right thing to do—something he should have done ten minutes ago—but a sense of dread, morbid curiosity, and some other nameless instinct stayed the impulse. Instead he leaned closer, only just able to discern the pair of muffled voices on the other side.

“She was dying. What was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for the hospital board to convene and debate the ethics? They would have wasted precious seconds wringing their hands and fretting over indemnification, while I had a chance to save her life.”

James’ voice was taut with the tension of a fraying rope. “And you failed.”

“People die from surgical complications every day,” Watts snapped. “We can’t save everyone. But we can try, and I did. She may be dead, but the contributions her death made have advanced our understanding of—”

“‘Contributions’? Do you hear yourself?”

Pietro nearly forgot to breathe in the deafening silence.

“You didn’t do this out of some misguided altruism,” James said. “You did it to satisfy your own curiosity.”

“I did it because she was running out of time and options. A transfer of consciousness by incising her Aura and siphoning it into a receptive vessel was the only way to ensure her survival. What other options were there?”

“Hospice.” The word was ground out through clenched teeth.

“If you’re waiting for me to grovel to you for clemency,” said Watts, “then you’ll be waiting for some time. I did nothing wrong.”

“Oh, really? Is that you why you had your patient shipped to a hospital in another kingdom so you could perform an illegal surgery?”

Pietro flinched.

“As I’ve explained to you numerous times, the procedure is illegal under Atlesian law. Mistral, on the other hand, has no such qualms when it comes to the implementation of pioneering medical research.”

“Hiding behind a loophole doesn’t change the fact that you manipulated her emotionally-compromised parents!” A fist slammed against the desk. “You knew they were desperate, and you knew they would say yes if there was even the slightest chance they could get their daughter back. Their consent was based solely on the premise that your theoretical procedure might work.”

“It’s not theoretical anymore.” The words saturated the air, like the ozone that preceded lightning. “I proved that it can be done. My efforts, while unsuccessful, weren’t a failure. We can take what I learned from her death and repurpose it—”

“That’s enough.”

Pietro recoiled from the shout. Then he realized what he’d done, and quickly repositioned himself next to the door.

“Did you know…” Shoes scuffed over the tiled floor, across the sunken dais. “During the height of the Great War, Mantle oversaw the detainment of captured soldiers. In time, their wardens saw little benefit in expending resources on them if there wasn’t some use for all of those people.” The pacing stopped. “Eventually, Mantle did find a use for them. They were experimented on. When the war came to a close, hundreds of people had perished. The textbooks never fail to recount that.”

Watts took a steadying breath. “What they often conveniently omit is that many of the technologies we have today were born from those experiments. Analgesics, psychotropic drugs, new surgical tools…and neuroprostheses.”

A pause.

“The metal grafted to your body exists because prisoners of war bled for it. You can’t ridicule my work and absolve yourself of hypocrisy.”

When James’ reply came, it was dangerously soft: “For better or worse, we have that technology.”

“For better or worse, we could have had one more,” Watts retorted. “How does condemning my choices justify yours?”

James exhaled through his nose, and his tone evened out into something approximating his regular speech. “Because I don’t condone the loss of lives, or the dehumanization of people. I didn’t participate in the atrocities that brought us those advancements.”

“No. You only benefited from them. Tell me, James. How many more people do you think will suffer needlessly in the future because you stymied my research? Inaction will deprive future generations.”

“Whereas action will slaughter the current one,” James shot back. “The ends don’t justify the means. You know that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gambled on asking for forgiveness over permission, had the girl actually lived.”

Neither man spoke into the yawning chasm that filled the space between them.

“…I didn’t want her to die, James.” An unfamiliar emotion crept into his voice.

James sighed. “I didn’t call you here to debate your motives. What’s done is done.”

When Watts spoke again, the question was accompanied by unease: “Then why did you arrange this meeting?”

“To discuss the consequences with you.”

“Am I being arrested?”

“Not presently, no,” James said. “The Council hasn’t formally issued any charges, and they won’t until they meet to discuss the matter in-depth.”

“If I’m not being arrested,” Watts ventured, “then what consequences are you talking about?”

The general’s reply was delayed. “I spoke with the Medical Board. Your license has been suspended.”

Pietro’s blood ran cold.

“On what grounds?” His voice was nearly inaudible.

“Malpractice.”

“You can’t place me on probation for a law I didn’t break—”

“Arthur.”

The interruption killed whatever momentum he’d gathered. When no more protests were forthcoming, James continued: “It wasn’t my call.”

Another gap in the conversation followed, shorter than the ones before it.

“If the Board’s intention was to simply strip me of my license, they could have easily done so without involving you. If the Council plans to do nothing yet, then this meeting is a waste of our time.” His confusion faded, replaced with wariness. “Why am I really here, James?”

“…I want you to understand,” James began, “that I arranged this meeting as a courtesy. I didn’t want you to be in the dark about events going forward—”

“Why am I here?”

Pietro could picture James steepling his hands, tightening his jaw.

“As you’re aware, the Penny Project is a classified military project. Your surgery appropriated that research, and you performed it on a civilian.”

“My research”—Watts bristled—“was based on an archotheronotic disease. Where I drew my inspiration is irrelevant.”

“The other councilors might not have letters after their names, but they’re not idiots. They saw the parallels. It’s not a coincidence that your procedure and the project both focus on Aura.”

“The difference,” Watts spat, “is in the intent. The project’s goal is to create an Aura from scratch. Mine was to separate and transfer an already-existing one. If we can separate a host’s Aura and place it within a new receptacle, then that proves we can also remove a portion of it and do the same.”

“Even if you’re right, that doesn’t change the fact that the girl’s parents went to the media and took their story public,” James said. “Soul-based research is already controversial. How long do you think it will take for people to start asking questions? That’s a scrutiny we can’t afford right now.”

The chair legs scraped over the ground as James stood.

“The reason why I called you here is because the Council believes that your actions jeopardized that secrecy. The unauthorized disclosure of classified military intelligence is a potential security breach. Which is why, until they conclude their investigation, your passport is being revoked and you will be confined to the Kingdom of Atlas.”

James sounded tired.

“The charge they intend to level against you is treason.”

Nervously, Pietro rapped his knuckles against the wooden frame.

“Arthur? May I come in?”

Watts stood with his back to the room, an outstretched hand removing several books from their shelves. At the sound of his name, he stiffened. “If you must,” he answered flatly.

“Thank you.” He was careful to avoid tripping over the boxes stacked by the entryway as he closed the door behind him.

The other man had never been particularly materialistic, but even so, his decorating was far from sparse. Awards and accreditations had hung from the walls, while shelves with medical tomes lined the perimeter of the office. Occasionally, projects from the lab migrated into the room, and had taken up tablespace by the windowsill where a lone bromeliad sat.

It was jarring to see those possessions packed away.

Watts didn’t immediately turn to face him. Instead, his head sunk between his shoulders. “…Are you here to yell at me as well?”

“Yes. No.” He ran a hand through his hair. A thousand different thoughts colored his mind like a fractured kaleidoscope. There were plenty of things he wanted to say, each worse than the last. Pietro ruthlessly shoved those thoughts aside. “Look, I’m upset, but right now you need a friend, not another detractor.”

“How considerate of you.” His words were devoid of inflection.

“I’m not going to pretend I know how you’re feeling right now, but I still think you should—” Pietro glanced at one of the cardboard boxes on his desk, only to do a double-take. “What are you doing?”

“Vacating the premises.” Watts resumed packing. “Seeing as I’m no longer tenured, the institute felt this room could be put to better use.”

“I already know that. That’s not what I meant.” Pietro gestured to the lacy scrawl on the side of the box—Free to whoever wants it. “Why are you getting rid of your things?”

“I have no reason to keep them. It’s not as if I’ll be able to use them again for another employer.”

“You don’t know that—” Pietro began to protest.

“No one in their right mind would hire me. And that’s assuming I won’t be spending the rest of my life behind bars.” He folded the box flaps with slightly more force than necessary. “Seeing as you’re already here, help yourself to whatever you like. I’ll be taking the rest of these downstairs to the breakroom, once I’m done. I know Will was always partial to my microscope.”

“I’m not taking your things!” Pietro let out a long, deep exhale, forcing himself to calm down. “I want to talk to you.”

“Very well.” Watts finally turned to face him, and Pietro was struck by how ill he looked. A gauntness clung to his features, though whether from a lack of food or a lack of sleep, he couldn’t say. Stubble had begun to creep in below his jaw, and his clothes were far more disheveled than he could ever recall them being. “Talk.”

It took him a moment to collect his thoughts. “You need to get a lawyer.”

“And what good will that do me?” His eyes were dull. “Even if the odds weren’t overwhelmingly stacked against me, what lawyer would touch my case?”

“I’m sure someone would, if you asked around.” Pietro hated the idea, but he willed himself to say it: “What about Jacques Schnee? You’re acquaintances, right? The SDC settles lawsuits all the time, so they’ve got to have legal experts on retainer. Maybe you could arrange something with him—”

“If you think I’ll let myself be indebted to that myopic narcissist—” As quickly as it flared, the fire in his eyes faded. Watts’ posture folded in on itself as the anger drained from him, leaving only fretful cinders behind. “I’m sorry,” he said, with a hard blink. “I was out of line.”

Pietro worried his lower lip. “What can I do to help?” he asked. “Do you want to go out? Get something to drink?”

“I—” Watts cut himself off with a sigh, and shook his head. “No. Thank you. I have plans to meet with one of my former patients later. He wants to discuss alternatives for his Dust poisoning, seeing as his treatments have been…discontinued.”

Pietro cast his gaze helplessly about the room, trying to think of something. With an unpleasant lurch in his chest, he realized that he couldn’t. “I’ll leave you to it, then?” he said.

“That would be for the best.”

Despite the overwhelming urge to protest, Pietro turned to leave. He stopped with his fingers on the door handle, and glanced back. “You’ll come and get me if you need anything, right?”

Watts opened another box, and began writing on the side. “Of course.”

Save for the occasional fleeting glimpse, Pietro saw little of his friend over the next two weeks.

While his presence on the campus was a necessity, Watts seemed to be doing what he could to minimize it. Only the administrators—who refused to speak about it—and his former clients—who spoke too much about it—spent any length of time with him. His public avoidance did little to deter the gossip, which varied in accuracy and failed to account for all the details, given the clandestine nature of his termination. It didn’t help that Pietro staunchly refused to contribute to it, and told off anyone bold enough to press the subject.

When their paths did cross, Watts didn’t linger long enough to chat. He had a faraway look on his face, and his appearance was unkempt.

It worried Pietro that he no longer seemed to care about himself.

It was early into the evening when Watts visited his office.

“Forgive me for the intrusion.” Pietro glanced up from his paperwork to see Watts hovering in the doorway. Strangely, he was carrying the bromeliad. “Might I steal a moment of your time?”

“Certainly!” Pietro pushed aside the document stack and gestured warmly to the chair. To his dismay, Watts remained standing. “What can I do for you?”

Watts adjusted the potted plant in his arms. “I was wondering,” he began, “if I could ask for a small favor.”

“Go ahead.”

Pietro didn’t know what to make of the unexpectedly calm expression on his face, so at odds with his recent emotional state.

“I need someone to look after this for me.” Watts took a step forward, and set the plant on the edge of the desk. “If it’s left unattended for a day or two it’s not an issue. Any longer, though, and it begins to dry out. The care required for it isn’t overly involved; the soil simply needs to be misted with distilled water every so—”

“Wait a second,” Pietro said. “Why does it sound like you’re going somewhere?”

Watts hesitated. “I’m travelling to Evadne for a few days.”

Pietro started to rise. “Arthur—”

He held up a hand. “I’m forbidden from international flights, not domestic. The southern coast of Solitas is under Atlesian jurisdiction, is it not?”

Slowly, Pietro sank back into his chair. “It is,” he agreed. “But why are you travelling now?”

Watts closed his eyes. “I want to see the coast one last time.”

He frowned. “You shouldn’t talk like that. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”

His friend didn’t comment. He merely stared at him.

“Fine,” Pietro relented, “I’ll watch it for you. But just so you know, I’ve killed plants before.”

His lips twitched in a faint smile. “That’s quite all right.”

Pietro reached forward to move the pot, only to be taken aback when his hand was intercepted by Watts’. The contact startled him, so much so that he didn’t react when Watts lightly squeezed.

He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

Pietro forced his jaws to move. “For what?”

“For more than I care to admit.”

The hand retreated.

“Enjoy your trip, Arthur.” Pietro tried to sound cheerful. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

Watts opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it. He dipped his head in a polite nod, before turning on his heel.

He wasn’t sure why he was here.

It was the second day after Watts’ departure for Evadne. The office was unrecognizable without any of its usual décor—walls now stripped bare of his possessions, floorspace empty save for the generic chairs and desk pushed off to the corner. The open space was dissonant with Pietro’s memories of the many times he’d spent in this room, either with other members of the team, or by himself. Almost as soon as the thoughts formed, they were accompanied by a pang of nostalgia. His fingernails dug into his palm.

Adjusting to the new normal was a prospect he dreaded, not just for the uncertainties at play, but simply because he didn’t want things to change. In truth, Pietro didn’t know what the Council’s verdict would be.

And he would have been lying if he said the thought didn’t keep him up at night.

It was as he was looking around the room that he noticed something glint in the waste bin. Intrigued, he bent down and pushed aside the crumpled papers partially obscuring it. When he lifted it from the bin, Pietro was surprised to see his reflection staring back at him from the plaque’s glassy surface.

The Atlesian Institute of Technology is honored to present the Rigel Award to Arthur Watts in recognition of his contributions to the fields of archotherology and pneumatophysics.

“I know things are bad right now, Arthur, but you shouldn’t just throw things like this away…” He’d been at the reception where the award had been presented; it had been a milestone in Watts’ career.

Carefully, Pietro wiped away a smudge with the hem of his shirt. A stubborn resolve seized him.

“It’s not breaking and entering if you have the spare key,” Pietro told himself, as the lock clicked.

The first thing he noticed, as the apartment door shut behind him, was the immediate onset of cold. Ice cold. The sort of chill that settled in a person’s lungs, and caused their breath to fog as they gasped for air.

“Gods above.” Pietro wrapped his arms around himself. “I know you like it cold, but this is ridiculous. What’s the temperature in here?”

Not intending to trip his way through the room, Pietro reached for the light switch.

Nothing.

“The bulb must have blown out.” He resorted to the flashlight on his scroll. Mindful of where he stepped, Pietro moved into the hall where the thermostat was. The last thing his friend needed was to return to a drafty apartment.

Understandably, he was confused when he tapped the screen, only for the thermostat to not respond.

“Surely this isn’t broken too…?”

A nagging suspicion prompted him to reach for the next light switch in his path. The hall remained dark, even after Pietro flipped it several times.

Something wasn’t right.

The next three lights he tried remained unresponsive to his attempts. Pietro stopped in the kitchen, his scroll in one hand, the glass plaque grasped loosely in the other. What else wasn’t working?

His gaze fell to the sink. With a slither of incredulity, Pietro turned the handle on the faucet.

It was cold, granted, but not cold enough to freeze the pipes. And he refused to believe that all of the utilities simultaneously stopped working. Even if they did, Watts would never have knowingly allowed them to remain in disrepair.

His mind discarded one possibility after the next, trying to identify a pattern, an explanation.

Pietro lifted the plaque to eye level.

For the life of him, he couldn’t fathom why he’d want to get rid of something so important. It was a question he’d have to ask him when he came back—

His eyes widened.

Glass skated over the tiles as the plaque shattered against the floor. Pietro fumbled with his scroll, cursing, as he bolted back down the hall.

James answered on the second ring. “Pietro? What—”

“Where are you?” he gasped.

“The Academy,” he said. “Is something—”

“Meet me in your office!” The door slammed shut behind him. “We need to stop him!”

“And you’re sure about this?” James gravely looked on as Pietro paced.

“Why else would he have gotten rid of his things?” He gestured wildly. “He already believes his life is over. He had no reason to keep them.”

Those words had taken on an entirely new meaning, one that made Pietro feel sick.

“I understand, given the circumstances, how you would've arrived at that conclusion. But is it possible you’re wrong?” He spoke with the calm, patient authority of his rank, with a pragmatism meant to ease. All it did was agitate Pietro even more. “Arthur is a lot of things, but suicidal? It doesn’t seem—”

“You haven’t seen him the last few weeks!” His voice shot up an octave. “He’s hardly eating, barely sleeping, he isolated himself from nearly everyone. I knew he was depressed, but I didn’t think…” He trailed off, at a loss for words. “James, please. We need to do something.”

James leaned back into his desk, hands braced against the edge. “We should consider every possibility before we act.”

Pietro halted in his tracks. “What other possibilities?”

“Consider what you’ve just told me. He disposed of his personal belongings—things that would have encumbered him. He distanced himself from other people—social contacts that would have tied him to the kingdom. He canceled his utilities—lien he no longer has to waste.”

Pietro turned to face him. “What are you suggesting?”

“Given the pending criminal charges, it’s possible that he’s trying to flee the kingdom.”

Pietro tensed.

“Think carefully about your last conversation.” James watched him closely. “Did he indicate that he planned on coming back?”

Mutely, Pietro shook his head.

“If he wanted to leave without drawing attention to himself, Evadne would be the logical choice,” he said. “It’s a small town on the water frequently used as a stopover between the interior cities and Anima’s northern coast. It has a comparably smaller military presence, and most of its visitors are tourists. He won’t look out of place. And if he’s brought lien with him, it wouldn’t take much persuasion to stow away on an airship or a boat. Dust smugglers regularly make use of those tactics.”

Pietro started to shake.

“Both possibilities are upsetting in their own right, and I’d prefer for neither to be true. But the evidence isn’t something we can just ignore. Right now, the latter seems more likely. I didn’t notice—”

“Of course you didn’t notice!” Pietro shouted. “You were so busy trying to end his career that you didn’t realize you were ending his life!”

His words echoed around the room. In the stunned silence that followed, Pietro continued to yell.

“‘I want to see the coast one last time.’ That’s what he said to me when he left! He didn’t mean before he was arrested; he meant before he died. And why wouldn’t he? What did he have left? Either he was going to waste away in a cell, or he was going to spend the rest of his life unable to rebuild it. No one in the medical community will speak to him, no one on the team will look at him—” He doubled over with a strangled cough. “I know what he did was wrong. I think it’s wrong. But I don’t want him to die because of it! I don’t want to be right, but with everything I’ve seen we can’t wait around to find out if I’m wrong. James, please, we have to—”

A hand fell on his shoulder. Pietro wheezed.

“We’ll find him.” James’ grip tightened. “I can have an airship ready in ten minutes.”

The night was alive with the weaving bands of the auroras.

A distant part of his mind tried to find comfort in the emerald and indigo light, as it rippled through the sky amidst a backdrop of stars.

“We should be there in a few hours.” From the seat across from him, James consulted his scroll. “Our ETA will be about 6:00 AM.”

Pietro turned away from the window. “What are we going to do when we get there?”

“I have a special operative who’s currently stationed in the area. Her name’s Caroline. I radioed her as we were boarding. Her team’s going to meet us when we land and help with the search.”

He nodded.

“Before Arthur left”—James glanced up from the screen—“did he tell you where he was staying?”

“No, I’m sorry,” he replied. “He didn’t.”

“That’s all right.” James returned to his scroll. “If he checked into a hotel, the transaction will be on his bank statement. I should have access to his account history in a minute.”

“James.” Pietro steeled himself. “If I’m right…about…” He drew in a shuddering breath. “How are we going to handle this?”

“It depends on what we find, and what—condition he’s in.” James’ face was pinched. “The plan is to make sure he’s not a danger to himself or anyone else.”

“‘Anyone else’?”

James’ expression darkened. “I’ve seen situations like this before, with soldiers and Huntsmen. Sometimes they lash out.”

Suddenly, Pietro was grateful for his friend’s long military career, and the experience that came with it.

That went doubly so a second later when his scroll chimed, granting him clearance.

James read over the information as it poured in. “Well, this confirms what we already suspected—he canceled his utilities a few days ago.”

“Did you find out where he’s staying?”

“Let me see—got it. I have the name and address. It’s…” He scrolled through something on the screen. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

Pietro leaned forward, trying to get a better look. “What is it?”

“Right before he left, he emptied his account.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Hang on. I might be able to trace where it went—” James trailed off.

“What is it?”

“He—” James peered at the records. “A large percentage of it was made out as a check. To the Ateliers.”

Pietro didn’t speak. If he opened his mouth now, he’d vomit.

“The remainder appears to have been withdrawn, though I’m not sure why.”

The cabin was mercifully silent as James immersed himself in parsing through the records. With nothing to do and only his thoughts to preoccupy him, Pietro returned to the window. It was several minutes before James spoke again:

“It’s going to be a while before we land. Try to get some sleep.”

When he trusted himself to not be sick, Pietro answered. “I’m okay, James.”

It was a lie. And judging by James’ expression, he didn’t believe it either.

“General Ironwood.” A woman of remarkably short stature saluted them. “It’s good to see you, sir.”

“Likewise, Caroline.”

She fell in step beside him while her two subordinates took up positions at the rear. For every one step James took, Caroline had to take three.

“Anything to report?” he asked.

“We’ve been monitoring the building from afar for the last half hour. We haven’t seen Dr. Watts enter or leave.”

James didn’t comment. Rather, he quickened his pace.

“Do you have any orders for us?”

“The manager will be expecting us, although she wasn’t fully informed as to why. I want you and your team to start in his room, then sweep the premises while we interview the staff.” He stopped with his hand on the glass doors, and gave her a hard stare. “Do not, under any circumstances, harm him. If the situation becomes dangerous, you are to either deescalate it or wait for me to join you. Do I make myself clear?”

She grimaced. “Yes, sir.”

A woman with a sheet of long, violet hair stood waiting for them in the lobby. “Welcome, General Ironwood. Dr. Polendina.” She offered a shallow bow. As she rose, she registered the accompanying operatives, and her eyes flickered with unspoken questions. “How may I assist you?”

“We’d like to speak with you, along with any staff that may have interacted with one of your guests.”

The manager glanced at Caroline. “Are we in danger?”

“No. Not likely,” said James.

The manager didn’t look reassured, but she didn’t protest. “Very well. Please follow me.”

She guided the small group to the front desk where the receptionist sat, their eyes wide in bewilderment. “May I have the guest’s name?” she asked.

“Arthur Watts,” James said.

Without prompting, the receptionist keyed in the name. “Uh. He’s in room 3A.”

James turned to the manager. “May I have your permission to send my team upstairs?”

“Go ahead.”

He nodded. At once Coraline and her subordinates dispersed.

The manager waited until they’d filed into the elevator before she spoke: “You said you had questions for me?”

“Along with any staff that interacted with him,” James clarified.

“I’ve interacted with him.”

The receptionist seemed to regret that decision the moment three pairs of eyes turned on them. Nevertheless, they continued: “The guy with the mustache, right?”

Pietro’s pulse stuttered sharply. “When did you last see him?”

“This morning. He left over an hour ago. Said he was going for a walk.”

It took every shred of willpower Pietro had to not run out those doors.

“Did he leave with any belongings on his person? A bag, perhaps?” James asked.

The receptionist shook their head. “No, sir. Just his wallet and his room key, like he usually does.”

Pietro swapped a look with James, before turning back to the receptionist. “What do you mean by ‘usually’?”

“This is the time when he usually goes out. He stops to talk to the receptionist—well, me, I guess—and then heads out for a few hours. Comes back around noon, grabs lunch in the dining hall, heads back upstairs. Goes out again around five o’clock, and comes back some time after seven.” They gave a helpless shrug. “I—I guess he has a routine.”

Some of the tension left James’ shoulders. “It’s possible Arthur did in fact come here just to destress,” he said.

What should have been a reassuring thought made Pietro want to sink into the ground in mortification. He could only imagine what Watts’ face would look like when he returned to the hotel, to find that Pietro had brought along the entire cavalry. All because he assumed his friend had a death wish.

Pietro was dragged out of his pity party by James’ next question: “Do you remember anything specific about his behavior? Anything that might have looked or sounded strange?”

To his surprise, the receptionist looked guilty. “Well…” They glanced at the manager.

“Whatever it is, you’re not in trouble,” she said.

The receptionist hesitated a second longer, before heaving a reluctant sigh. “You get a lot of guests in a place like this, right? So you don’t always remember all of them. Not unless they stand out in some way. He…” They paused. “He’s been nothing but polite and friendly to all the staff.”

“That doesn’t sound particularly noteworthy,” James observed.

The receptionist fidgeted. “No, it’s not that. It’s not just that. He tipped us well.” They swallowed. “Like, really well.”

The lingering dread from earlier resurfaced. “How much did he tip you?” Pietro asked.

They averted their gaze. “Ten thousand lien. Each.”

The dread beat savage wings against his ribs.

Out of his periphery, James stepped off to the side with a finger pressed to his earpiece. A second later his face went unsettlingly blank. “Excuse me,” he said. “I need to speak with my team.”

Pietro dimly registered his departure. He looked between the two hotel staff, his mind frantically scrambling for an explanation other than the one he didn’t want to hear. “Did he say anything?” he asked. Begged. “Anything that you might remember could help."

They considered his words with renewed thoughtfulness. “When he’d come back from his walks, I’d ask him how he was—the regular sort of small talk you’d make with guests. He told me that he went down to the beach. When I asked him, ‘Did you do anything while you were there?’ he said, ‘Not today. Perhaps I will tomorrow.’”

“Pietro.”

James had returned.

Coraline and her team hurried through the lobby; he could just make out “mobilize search-and-rescue” being barked into her earpiece as they rushed past.

He regarded Pietro with pale, haunted eyes, before slowly holding out his hand. “I’m sorry.”

A note hung from his fingertips.

After four days of searching, Arthur Watts was declared dead.

James scrubbed at his face. “I already told you, Camilla,” he sighed, as the doors slid open, “I’ll have it resolved once I—oh, Pietro. I didn’t realize it was you.”

Pietro managed a weak smile. “Disappointed to see me?” he asked, as he strode into the room.

“Relieved, actually.” James set aside some manner of document he’d been working on. “I was half-expecting another lecture.” Pietro accepted the tacit invitation to join him, and eased into the chair. “What can I do for you?”

Pietro tapped his fingers against the armrest. “I need a favor. A big one.”

“Why do I get the impression I won’t like what you’re about to ask me?”

“Because you won’t.”

Predictably, James wasn’t amused, but he didn’t try to bodily throw him out of the room, so that was a good start. “All right,” he said. “I’m listening.”

This conversation had sounded so much easier in his head. Pietro contemplated which option to take, before deciding on the direct approach: “Did you ever look over the report Arthur wrote after the surgery?”

It was brief, but Pietro didn’t miss the flash of regret James very neatly concealed behind unwavering calm. He steepled his hands. “I did,” he answered.

“Did you see the post-op notes?”

“I did.”

“But did you read them?” he pressed.

There was a hint of humor in his reply: “I read them to the extent I could understand them.”

Pietro braced himself. “I took another look at his work on Auratic intercision. He did it, James.”

When the other man said nothing, he hurriedly launched into his speech. “Even though the initial attempt failed, he managed to deduce what went wrong during the procedure. I won’t waste your time with all the technical mumbo jumbo, but I did the math. Split-Aura transfer is possible.”

He held James’ gaze. “We can finally build Penny.”

For a moment that stretched into eternity, James remained silent. He closed his eyes, exhaled, and opened them again. “You want my permission, to use the same research that nearly got him arrested, to complete your project.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Pietro said.

“I can certainly appreciate the irony, if nothing else.” He narrowed his eyes—thoughtfully, not in anger. “This wasn’t an idea you came up with overnight. It’s been nearly two months. Why did you wait this long to bring it up?”

“It’s as you said: it’s been two months. The last of the journalists have retired the story. People are no longer fixated on the proceedings. No more controversy, no more public backlash. The scandal died with him.” It hurt to say, but Pietro pushed onward: “Synthesizing an Aura has proven impossible, but now, we have a viable alternative. We can’t bring Mia Atelier back. But perhaps we can give someone else a chance at life.”

He waited.

At last, James nodded. A breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding left him. “You have my permission.”

“Thank you,” Pietro said.

“There’s just one problem.”

James regarded him intently. “The procedure requires a donor, does it not? You need a volunteer.”

Pietro straightened. “You’re looking at him.”

It had been a while since he last had the chance to sit and diagram.

A combination of blueprints, tablets, and holographic projectors were scattered about the desk. Other than the sleepy hum of the generator, and the scratching of pen against paper, his office was silent. The ambiance gave Pietro a pleasant rhythm to work to as he alternated between mediums.

He was in the middle of diagramming the thrusters when a voice spoke up from behind: “Burning the midnight oil?”

Pietro gladly accepted the mug James offered him, as he occupied the empty seat. “Just getting a little more work done before I call it quits.” He grinned. “I just finished the template for her skeleton. It’s on the tablet to your right if you want to see it.”

“This one?” James picked up the tablet in question.

“Swipe left, it’s the first file.”

The device lit up in his hands. James made an appreciative noise in the back of his throat as his eyes darted across the screen.

“What do you think?” Pietro asked.

“I think”—he continued to skim through the files—“I picked the right proposal.”

He didn’t realize how much he needed to hear those words until he felt a hot, stinging sensation in the corner of his eyes. He tried to discreetly dab it away.

Not discreetly enough, it seemed. James shot him an inquiring look.

“Oh, don’t mind. I’m just a little sensitive right now.” Pietro ducked his head. “It’s not every day you get to become a father.”

James wore a knowing, if somewhat bemused smile, but he was considerate enough to not say anything. He turned his attention back to the files in his hand.

“A lot of those are aesthetic mock-ups. I haven’t finalized anything, so if you want to throw in your two cents on the design input, you’re more than welcome to.”

“Did he know?”

Pietro’s hand stilled over the parchment. When no elaboration was forthcoming, he lifted his head to deduce one for himself.

His pulse beat painfully beneath his skin.

The file on the screen was one of the earliest drafts for Penny’s design. It was also one of the only files to have received a color palette. Red hair hung in thick curls about her pale face. Her cheeks were flecked with freckles that contrasted just enough to be visible, just below her eyes.

Eyes that were a very familiar shade of green.

He didn’t say anything for several moments. He debated saying anything at all.

But there was no judgment on James’ face, no hint of contempt in his voice. Only sympathy.

“No,” Pietro answered. He let out a tired sigh, and set the pen down. “And he never suspected. I made sure of that.”

“You didn’t want to tell him?”

“I wanted to tell him for a long time." He closed his eyes. "I’ve spent the last four months regretting every day that I didn’t. And on every one of those days, I wondered if telling him would have made a difference.”

“It’s not your fault,” said James.

“I know.” Pietro reached for the photo on the edge of his desk, and gently lifted the frame into his hands. It was the last picture the team had taken together. “It doesn’t change the fact that he’s gone.”

He lifted his eyes to the file in James’ hands, to the image of the young girl staring back at him.

“But maybe, through someone else—someone new—he can still be here.”

“Dr. Watts?”

Watts lifted his head from the chart he'd been reviewing.

At the entrance of his lab stood Hazel, his expression as impassive as ever.

“We have a meeting to attend.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Watts smoothed down the front of his coat. “Tell Salem I’ll be right there.”

Guess I've got some explaining to do. For anyone curious about my RWBY worldbuilding and headcanons:

Pietro not being disabled prior to the start of the series - We have no confirmation of this in canon, but I think that donating a percentage of his Aura to Penny has slowly chipped away at his health. I based this partly on the fact that in the show, the areas on his body where his Aura has been excised most prominently are over his legs and lower torso. If donating too much of his Aura is fatal, then it stands to reason that there are intermediary complications between points A and D - loss of mobility in his legs, chronic respiratory illness, worsening vision, and so on.

Archotherology (Gr. archo-, ruler, + -thero-, beast, + -logy, study of) - The study of Grimm.

Pneumatophysics (Gr. pneûma, soul, + -physics) - The study of the soul and its physical manifestation, Aura.

Apothymetics (Gr. apo-, derived from, + -thym-, soul, + E. -ics, from [?] Gr. -ikós, pertaining to) - The study of Semblances; a subdiscipline of pneumatophysics.

Auratic disease - An adverse condition that typically affects a person’s Aura, and by extension, their Semblance. Auratic diseases are generated by plague-type Grimm, and then transmitted to people through proximity. Watts' research simulated an Auratic disease, which is why Pietro later acquires a manmade version of CAD. You can click here to read more about them.

Evadne - A coastal city in southern Solitas. Named after the Greek figure Evadne, the wife of King Argus.

[pigeontheoneandonly]

Mass Effect Headcanons: Sex and Reproduction, Turian Edition

This series of posts is less canonical and more of a “what if the alien physiology had been more creative?”  I have taken significant deviations from canon in the interest of this exploration. Due to the mature nature of this content, it is hidden behind a read more.

Note: Canonically, turians are viviparous.  It could be more interesting if they’re oviparous.  (It’s also worth noting that there are no known species of viviparous birds, so it makes more logical sense as well.)

Both turian males and females are equipped with a cloaca.  In the case of males, a penis— one of the few instances of external soft tissues in turians— sits tucked just inside the cloaca, inside out, and is rapidly pushed outwards during copulation. A turian penis is firm but flexible while erect.  Females have a penile analog akin to a large clitoris, capable of limited penetration that likewise enlarges and everts when aroused.  Genital alignment is easiest with the male mounting over the back of the female, but as with other bipedal species, many positions are possible. Oral sex is considered rather nasty by many turians, as the cloaca is also used for waste elimination (think about the reaction of many humans to eating ass).  However, penetration of the rectum within the cloaca is common and considered pleasurable by many members of all sexes, and its stimulation is common in non-penetrative sex.  

Females are stimulated to produce eggs in the springtime by both environmental and social factors, and diet and stress levels play important roles.  However, nearly all turian females not attempting to reproduce block egg production with medication, as it is enormously expensive in terms of energy and nutrients, and immensely uncomfortable.  Male crests tend to brighten and thicken during the mating season.  Egg production can be stimulated outside the seasonal cycle, but in general, turian birthdays are clustered during local summer in the place of their birth.  Egg laying season is an informal holiday, during which the strict routines of turian society are relaxed.

Contraception is mandatory for all sexes while serving in the military.  Those who react poorly to common medical methods are offered alternatives.

Turian couples lifebond for purposes of reproduction.  Even if the romantic relationship dissolves, the absolute necessity of two parents for egg and infant care has translated into ironclad cultural sentiments about co-parenting.  In the past, it was common for a widowed parent to be pressured to adopt out their orphaned egg or young child to a pair, though this belief has largely faded over the last millennium as turian civilization became more assimilated into the rest of the galaxy.

Conversely, they have very relaxed attitudes about recreational sexual relationships.  It’s seen as excellent entertainment and stress relief, and is only taken as seriously as the participants wish.

A female will lay an egg approximately four weeks after fertilization, with a single egg most common, and a clutch of three nearly unheard of.  Since turian eggs are large for their size, becoming egg bound (unable to pass the egg) is not uncommon.  Medical intervention is required; while attempts can be made to extract the egg, often the safest course is to extract the contents, which causes the egg to collapse and pass easily.  The couple will try again later in the season or the following year. Couples who experience this problem repeatedly may use a donor egg (an unfertilized egg from another female, implanted with the couple’s DNA), and artificial eggs are becoming more common but have lower success rates.  Poor diet and excessive stress are major contributors to egg binding.

Most women opt to lay in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.  There is a great deal of controversy in modern turian society about whether to incubate the egg in a hospital creche, where it can receive constant and carefully calibrated care but will lack extensive egg-bonding, or in a nest at the home where it must be attended at all times.  Hospitals create homey environments within their birthing wards in an attempt to attract new parents.  Some parents mix methods, taking the egg home in the final weeks to hatch.  Even in the home, electric heat generators are in frequent use.  Parents will also warm the egg by curling around it, laying their body over it, or carrying it in a sling tucked close to the body.  Very close friends or family and older children may take a turn incubating the egg to bond with it.  As with the fetuses of other species, turians will talk to their eggs, and the fetus develops hearing prior to birth.  Some turian cultures paint patterns conferring health or warding onto the egg as it develops.

The egg has a thick shell to protect it from radiation, much like turian carapace, and occasionally turian chicks need assistance to hatch.  They are born with claws on their knuckles and heels for hatching purposes, which fall off in infancy.  Turian biotics are the result of eezo exposure in the egg, and this has in the past led to unethical experiments to engineer biotics; the thick shell is also the reason for the exceptionally low incidence of turian biotics. Sex of the chick can be easily discerned by flashing a bright light behind the egg, and has been common practice since the invention of fire.  Not learning the sex is virtually unheard of.

Egg hatching occurs eighty days after laying, and is a celebratory event involving inviting friends and family to the home.  Turian chicks must be protected from radiation until their carapace hardens, and kept warm, for about a hundred days after hatch.  Turians have developed a number of carrying devices and salves for this purpose.  Traditionally, the baby receives its name once the carapace cannot hold a finger indent, though of course the name was usually chosen (and often widely known) from the moment the baby was sexed.

The chick must be fed around the clock via regurgitation, and it is impossible for a single parent to keep up with demand alone.  While synthetic substitutes exist and are nutritionally sound, there remains an immense bias in turian society towards two parents naturally feeding their young.  Turians with alien partners will often start producing crop milk when a child arrives, even if that child is not turian, as a hardwired biological response to caring for an infant.

Due to the comparatively low risk involved with egg laying vs live birth, donor eggs are readily available and for thousands of years of modern medical science, it has been common for homosexual couples to raise young based on their own DNA. Before that, friends or family would often supply fertilized eggs to the couple to raise as their own.  Turian society never developed a homosexuality taboo, and is confused to this day by its presence in other societies.

[lawyer4help]

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM VAGINAL MESH COMPLICATIONS

Lawyer4Help helps women file Bladder sling lawsuit in USA who have gone through vaginal mesh complications. We provide the best lawyers who have experience in legal proceedings on these cases and reaching a fair settlement.

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when childbirth and such conditions wear out the tissue in the pelvic area which leads to pain and discomfort. Doctor recommends mesh surgery in the time of an emergency.

Tansvaginal mesh, also known as pelvic mesh or bladder sling. It is a surgical material made of non-absorbable/absorbable synthetic polypropylene that is used to give an extra support to pelvic organ. It is implanted during a surgical procedure for mending a weakened and damaged pelvic organ.

Although, the mesh surgery causes severe complications on account of the problems linked with the procedure. According to FDA, surgical mesh complications are frequent to encounter and ultimately reclassified the use of mesh from moderate to severe risk.

Complications you may face

Frequent complications reported so far from transvaginal surgery include:

● Vaginal mesh erosion

● Infection

● Pelvic and near organ perforation

● Vaginal Shrinkage

● Urinary problems

● Neuro-muscular problem

● Trouble walking

● Fever on and off

● Nausea

● Weight loss

Some of the news reported in the past where women faced urinary issues where every time they laugh, cough, sneeze or part in activities that create extra pressure, causing a small amount of urine to leak. In some cases, it was frequently identified that women wore sanitary pads in defense.

Based on Doctor Raz's experience, 20 to 30% of complications he named as “lupus type”, results in runny nose, muscle pain, fogginess and lethargy.

Primary reason behind facing difficulty is when the mesh starts eroding in the vagina. This makes the mesh slip off of the implanted position and lead to harming pelvic organs and its surroundings.

Symptoms of mesh complications

Vaginal mesh complication symptoms occur within week or month of the surgery which include:

● Painful intercourse

● Vaginal bleeding

● Intensifying urinary incontinence

● Vaginal discharge and pain

These symptoms worsen over time. It’s required to become aware of the symptoms and take prompt actions before it’s late. Besides medical treatment, it’s needed to spread awareness and get justice from it. Bladder Sling lawsuits helped many women and brought them to justice by huge settlements.

Recommendations for women who face complications

Consult a specialist in this area with significant surgical skills and start medical treatment at the earliest.

Other than this as you’ve learned how claiming an amount from companies is beneficial. It not just fulfills your financial loss but stimulates your mental state with a sense of fairness and aids to share knowledge vastly.

Let’s get into a few facts.

Women who have sued companies over vaginal mesh have pulled off success of at least around $300 million. By 2017, many companies had settled thousands of demands for millions of people.

There was a case of Sherise Grant among many women who had faced urinary problems, she pulled off a settlement of $8 billion.

One patient has achieved a victory of $41 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson. Other times the jury awarded millions of dollars to patients. In the meantime, 108,008 lawsuits have been filed in the MDLs and reaching settlements.

In August 2021, FDA banned Boston Scientific and Coloplast devices for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse to be available for commercial use.

Based on all the factuality, we recommend you to get in touch with the right attorneys on time. Lawyer4Help has experience in giving individuals the power to work out their legal rights in many matters and provides Best lawyers to you.

Settle your Transvaginal mesh lawsuit claims with us. We make things right for you!

[kalosaaesthetics]

Best Urinary Incontinence Treatment & Surgery in Delhi NCR

The problem of urine incontinence is very common. In this problem, the person loses control of the bladder, which sometimes creates a very embarrassing situation. The severity of the issue may range depending on several factors. In some cases, there is an occasional leaking of urine when a person sneezes or coughs, while in some cases, the urge to urinate is so strong and sudden that making it to a toilet in time becomes difficult.

This problem is more pronounced in seniors due to aging, but it is not necessarily restricted to this age group. It is important to look for a specialist treating urine incontinence in Delhi if the problem starts interrupting and affecting daily activities. Sometimes, dietary changes, following a simple lifestyle, or simple medical care can help take care of symptoms of this problem.Visiting a specialist can help manage these symptoms and lead a normal life. The doctor may suggest making simple lifestyle changes, like drinking the right amount of liquids at the right time, maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, avoiding constipation, and quitting smoking.A visit to the gynaecologist like Dr. Deepti Asthana for urinary incontinence treatment in Delhi helps the patient know if the problem is temporary or more serious that needs medical treatment.

Symptoms of Temporary Urine Incontinence

It is important to know about symptoms of urine incontinence to know if the problem is temporary or persistent. Here are the symptoms of temporary urine incontinence.As per the specialists, certain medications, foods, and drinks may act as a diuretic. These foods and drinks stimulate the bladder while increasing urine volume. These may include:

Caffeine

Alcohol

Artificial sweeteners

Sparkling water and carbonated drinks

Chilli peppers

Chocolate

Spicy food, sugar-rich foods, citrus foods

Large Vitamin C doses

Sedatives, muscle relaxants, and blood pressure medications.

In some cases, the problem may also occur due to urinary tract infection or constipation.

Persistent urinary incontinence

In some cases, the problem of urine incontinence may be persistent. It happens due to changes in health or underlying physical conditions. Here are a few conditions that may trigger persistent urine incontinence problems:

1. Child Birth

Muscles weaken after vaginal delivery, damaging bladder nerves, leading to the prolapsed pelvic floor.

2. Pregnancy

Increased fetus weight and hormonal changes can lead to stress incontinence.

3. Menopause

Reduced estrogen after menopause is also one of the reasons behind urine incontinence.

4. Change with age

Aging of muscles in a bladder decreases its capacity to store urine, and bladder contractions increase, resulting in urine incontinence.Other health issues responsible for persistent urine incontinence problems are prostate cancer, enlarged prostate, neurological disorders, and obstruction.

Treatment of Urinary Incontinence

The urine incontinence treatment depends on the type of incontinence, its underlying cause, and its severity. Dr. Deepti Asthana is a renowned obstetrician and gynecologist in Delhi with more than 14 years of experience handling various gynecology issues. At Kalosa Aesthetics & Cosmetics Gynaecology Clinic, treatment of urine incontinence problems is available. Depending on the severity of the problem, the doctor may suggest a combination of treatments. Here are a few treatment options recommended to treat the problem.

1. Pelvic floor muscle exercises

If the problem is not too severe and temporary, the doctor may suggest pelvic floor muscle exercises. These are also known as kegel exercises and are recommended to strengthen pelvis floor muscles responsible for urine control. These are very effective exercises helping in controlling the sudden urge to urinate. In this exercise, the person has to imagine stopping urine flow by contracting or tightening muscles, holding for five seconds, and then relaxing muscles. Gradually increase the holding time. Repeat these exercises at least ten times a day to feel the difference.

2. BTL EMSELLA and its Mechanism

With advanced technology, several new mechanisms have come up that help treat urine incontinence problems. BTL EMSELLA is one such mechanism that helps in tightening the loose and lax pelvic floor muscle. A High-intensity Focused Electromagnetic technology (HIFEM) is used to deliver 11,000 kegel contractions. It helps in increasing neuromuscular coordination. It is a quick and effective treatment that takes hardly half an hour per session. It is a completely non-invasive, non-surgical intervention, and completely pain-free treatment. It is an FDA-cleared urinary incontinence treatment for men and women. Patients can stay clothed while undergoing treatment of the entire pelvic floor.

3. Medications

The urine incontinence problem can also be treated through medications. Some of the common medications prescribed for this problem are-

Myrbetriq or Mirabegron-This medication works by relaxing the bladder muscle and treat urge incontinence. It also increases the urine amount that the bladder can hold. The medicine also increases the amount of urine that can be urinated at one time. This way, the bladder gets emptied completely.

Anticholinergics-This medication is prescribed to calm an overactive bladder. It helps in treating urge incontinence. Some of the medicines commonly used for this purpose are tolterodine (Detrol), oxybutynin (Ditropan XL), fesoterodine (Toviaz), darifenacin (Enablex), trospium chloride, and solifenacin (Vesicare).

Topical Estrogen-Topical estrogen is a low-dose medication available in the form of a vaginal ring, cream, or patch to help rejuvenate and tone tissues in vaginal and urethra areas.

Alpha-Blockers-Alpha-blockers help men with overflow incontinence and urge incontinence problems. These medications work by relaxing muscle fibers and neck muscles of the bladder and prostate. It helps in easy and quick emptying of the bladder. Some of these medications are alfuzosin (Uroxatral), tamsulosin (Flomax), doxazosin (Cardura), and silodosin (Rapaflo).

4. Medical devices

Certain medical devices are also used to treat women with urine incontinence problems. Some of the devices used for this purpose are-

Pessary-It is a commonly used medical device that looks like a ring made up of flexible silicon material. It can be worn all through the day. It is inserted into the vagina. Women with vaginal prolapse problems use this device to prevent urine leakage.

Urethral Insert-It is a disposable, tampon-like device. It is also inserted into the urethra before a woman indulges in a specific activity like playing tennis, etc., triggering incontinence.

5. Surgery

If any of these treatments are not working as expected, surgical intervention seems to be the best alternative forurine incontinence in Delhi NCR. Here are a few surgical procedures usually recommended to treat this problem.

Bladder Neck Suspension– In this procedure, support is provided to the bladder neck and urethra. This thickened muscle connects the urethra and the bladder. An abdominal incision is involved, which is administered under spinal or general anesthesia.

Sling Procedures-In this procedure, a mesh of synthetic material or strips of body tissues creates a pelvic sling under the thickened muscle that connects the bladder neck with the bladder. The use of the sling helps to keep the urethra closed when sneezing or coughing.

Artificial Urinary Sphincter-It is a tiny, fluid-filled ring. It is implanted surrounding the urethra to keep the urinary sphincter shut until the person needs to urinate. The valve implanted under the skin is pressed, causing the ring to deflate, opening the bladder mouth to open, and allowing urine flow.

Prolapse Surgery-Another surgical intervention that is used to treat urine incontinence. This treatment is used for women with pelvic organ prolapse problems. In this surgery, a combination of prolapse surgery and a sling procedure is used.

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Deepti Asthana and get the best treatment for urine incontinence problem.

[techsciresearch]

India Mobility Aid Medical Devices Market to Reach $ 200 Million by 2026 – TechSci Research

Increasing geriatric population and significant technological advancements are acting as key growth drivers for India mobility aid medical devices market

According to TechSci Research report, “India Mobility Aid Medical Devices Market By Product, By End User, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, FY 2026”, the country’s mobility aid medical devices market is projected to surpass $ 200 million by FY 2026 driven by the growing disabled and handicapped population and increase in population of children with birth defects or who are physically challenged. Besides, growing prevalence of diseases like arthritis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, among others is further expected to fuel the market growth over the next few years. However, high cost of mobility aid medical devices such as power wheelchairs, mobility scooters, powered tricycles, etc., can hamper the market growth during the forecast period. Also, lack of awareness and low level of acceptance for few devices is posing a challenge for mobility aid medical devices manufactures in India.

Browse over 17 market data Tables and Figures spread through 70 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "India Mobility Aid Medical Devices Market"

 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/india-mobility-aid-medical-devices-market/5047.html

India mobility aid medical devices market is segmented based on product, end user, and region. Based on product segmentation, the market can be categorized into wheelchairs, walking aids, mobility lifts, slings, tricycles and mobility scooters. Wheelchairs and walking aids segments are the dominant market segments, with both cumulatively accounting for majority of the market share in FY 2020 . The walking aids segment is further categorized into canes, walkers and crutches. The canes segment is expected to dominate the market owing to their low cost and ease of use. Additionally, this is a regular sales product that is not only used by people with disabilities but also used by patients after surgeries and injuries. The walkers segment is also expected to grow significantly owing to their extensive use in early stages of mobility after surgeries and injuries.

The mobility lifts segment is further fragmented into ceiling lifts, hydraulic lifts and others. The hydraulic lifts segment is expected to dominate the market owing to their widespread use across different homecare and hospital facilities. The tricycles segment is further split into manual and powered. The manual segment is expected to dominate the market owing to their widespread adoption and low cost. Major players operating in India mobility aid medical devices market include Stryker India Private Limited (Stryker Corporation), Forza Medi (India) Pvt. Ltd. (Invacare Corporation), Investor AB (Permobil India), Arjo Huntleigh Healthcare India Private Ltd, Hill-Rom India Private Limited, Karma Health Care Limited, Paramount Bed Co., Ltd., OttoBock Healthcare India Private Limited (OttoBock Healthcare GmbH), Pride Mobility Products Corp., Ostrich Mobility Instruments Private Limited, among others. Leading market players are undergoing strategic collaborations and focusing on launching new products to strengthen their position in India mobility aid medical device market.

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 “The increasing rate of developmental disabilities among children in India and increasing focus of government on providing high standard medical facilities are supporting the growth of mobility aid medical devices market in the country. The improving standard of living and developments in healthcare infrastructure are also providing lucrative opportunities to medical device manufactures. Furthermore, increase in mobility impairment disorders in the country including amputation, paralysis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, is creating increasing demand for mobility aid medical devices.” said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based India management consulting firm.

“India Mobility Aid Medical Devices Market By Product, By End User, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, FY 2026” has evaluated the future growth potential of mobility aid medical devices market and provides statistics & information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in India mobility aid medical devices market.

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Urinary Incontinence - Treatment & Home Remedies

Urinary Incontinence - Treatment & Home Remedies1. Stress incontinence2. Overflow Incontinence3. Urge Incontinence 4. Functional Incontinence 5. Mixed Incontinence:1. Age2. Gender3. Weight gain/ Obesity4. Family History5. Other diseases1. A bladder diary2. Physical exam3. Urinalysis4. Post Void Residual (PVR) measurement5. Pelvic ultrasound6. Stress test7. Urodynamic testing8. Cystoscopy Behavioural Techniques1. Bladder training2. Double voiding 3. Scheduled toilet trips4. Fluid and diet managementPelvic floor muscle exercisesAlso known as Kegel exercises, these exercises are especially effective for stress incontinence but may also help urge incontinence.Electrical stimulationMedications1. Anticholinergics 2. Mirabegron3. Alpha blockers4. Topical estrogen Medical devices1. Urethral insert2. PessaryUrology Surgery1. Sling procedures2. Bladder neck suspension 3. Artificial urinary sphincterAbsorbent pads and catheters1. Pads and protective garments2. CatheterHome Remedies1. Dietary Restrictions2. Weight Management3. Vitamin D and MagnesiumConclusion

Urinary incontinence refers to the involuntary leakage of urine, meaning that a person urinates even when they don’t want to. This loss of bladder control happens when a person loses control over their urinary sphincters, which are two muscles that control the exit of urine in the bladder. Urinary incontinence is more common among women than in men. News reveals that  between the ages of 30-60, about 30 percent of women experience incontinence compared to 1, 1.5 percent in men. This condition, however common, is considered embarrassing which is one of the main reasons people choose living with it and do not share it with a urinary doctor or visit a clinic to get treatment for Urinary Incontinence. 

Types and Causes

The types and causes of urinary incontinence are consistent with each other. 

 When urine leaks when pressure is exerted over your bladder. This may happen when you’re coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting something, etc. Its causes include age, obesity, pregnancy, menopause, and surgical procedures. 

This is when you experience a constant or frequent leakage of urine when your bladder hasn’t emptied after urinating because of a blockage. Some of its causes are urinary stones, tumor passing through, enlarged prostate gland, or constipation. 

This refers to the sudden urge to relieve yourself followed by an involuntary loss of urine. It may be caused by a minor infection but may also be serious due to neurological conditions such as a stroke or multiple sclerosis. 

When a physical or mental disability hinders you from making it to the toilet in time, it is referred to as functional incontinence. A person with arthritis may not be able to unzip his pants in time to relieve themself. 

When a person’s health gets affected by more than one type of incontinence at the same time. 

Risk Factors

There are several factors that may increase your chance of having urinary incontinence: 

As a person grows older, with declining health, the muscles in their urethra lose their strength. These changes allow them to have lesser control over the bladder, thus leading to the involuntary release of urine. 

The risk of urinary incontinence is always higher in women, which can be either due to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or even normal body anatomy. Whereas men with enlarged prostate glands are at higher risk of an involuntary leak. 

Heavier weight increases the pressure on a person’s bladder thus creating a higher risk of urine leakage. 

If a close member of a person’s family suffers from incontinence, it is more likely that they may share the condition too. This is common for urge incontinence. 

People with a history of diabetes or any neurological conditions are always at higher risk of getting urinary incontinence.

Diagnosis

A consultation with a clinic, urologist, or a urinary doctor entails: 

This requires a person to keep track on a page of their water intake, the number of times they had the urge to urinate, and the times they experienced episodes of involuntary leakage.

In females, the doctor examines the vagina to assess the health of the pelvic muscles and floor. In males, the doctor carries out a rectal exam to check for symptoms of enlarged prostate glands. 

Urine tests are carried out to check for any infections or abnormalities.

This procedure assesses how much urine is left in the bladder after urinating.

Provides an image and may help detect any abnormalities.

The patient is asked to apply sudden pressure on their bladder while the doctor keeps track of the loss of urine.

This determines how much pressure the bladder and urinary sphincter muscle can withstand.

A thin tube with a lens at the end is inserted into the urethra so that the doctor can view any abnormalities in the urinary tract.

Treatment

Urinary Incontinence Treatment is dependent upon the severity, type, and causes of the incontinence, and for the same, a combination of treatments may be recommended by the doctor after diagnosis. 

The goal of this technique is to strengthen your bladder control. Therefore, every time you feel the urge to go, you try to delay it by 10 minutes, doing so until you’re only urinating at 2.5 to 3 hours.

This helps in emptying your bladder in one go to avoid leakage. With every trip to the bathroom, you urinate and wait 5 minutes before trying to urinate again. 

 Scheduling trips to the bathroom every two to four hours rather than going every time you have the urge. 

 Managing your diet is highly necessary in order to control your bladder. For the same, you need to cut back on alcohol consumption, caffeine, and food items that are acidic in nature. You may also need to control your fluid intake and lose weight as well. 

Tighten the muscles you would use to stop urinating and hold for five seconds, and then relax or ease for five seconds. 

Work up to holding the contractions for 10 seconds at a time.

Set a goal for at least three sets of 10 contractions each day.

Electrodes are temporarily inserted into your rectum or vagina to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Gentle electrical stimulation can be effective for stress incontinence and urge incontinence, but you may need multiple treatments over several months, depending upon the severity of your case. 

Modern medicine network has several medication to treat incontinence including:

These medications can calm an overactive bladder and are helpful for urge incontinence. 

It is used to treat urge incontinence. This medication relaxes the bladder muscle and can increase the amount of urine your bladder can hold.

In men with urge or overflow incontinence, these medications relax bladder muscles and muscle fibers in the prostate and make it easier for the patient to empty the bladder. 

For women, topical estrogen in the form of a vaginal cream, ring, or patch may help tone and rejuvenate tissues in the urethra and vaginal areas. 

Clinical devices designed to treat women with incontinence include:

A small, tampon-like disposable device inserted into the urethra before any strenuous activity that can trigger incontinence. The insert acts as a plug to prevent leakage and is removed before urination.

It is a stiff medical ring that you insert into your vagina and wear all day. The pessary helps hold up your bladder, which lies near the vagina, to prevent urine leaks.

If other medical  treatments aren't working, it is best to visit a clinic and consult a doctor to opt for a surgical procedure:

A network of body tissues, synthetic material or mesh is used to create a pelvic sling around your urethra and the area of thickened muscle where the bladder connects to the urethra. The sling helps keep the urethra closed, especially when you cough or sneeze. This procedure is used to treat stress incontinence.

This procedure is designed to provide support to your urethra and bladder neck — an area of thickened muscle where the bladder connects to the urethra. It involves an abdominal incision, so it's done during general or spinal anesthesia.

In men, a small, fluid-filled ring is implanted around the bladder neck to keep the urinary sphincter shut until you're ready to urinate. To urinate, you press a valve implanted under your skin that causes the ring to deflate and allows urine from your bladder to flow.

Men who have problems with urine leakage can use a drip collector — a small pocket of absorbent padding that's worn over the penis and held in place by close-fitting underwear.

If you're incontinent because your bladder doesn't empty properly, your doctor may recommend that you learn to insert a soft tube (catheter) into your urethra several times a day to drain your bladder. 

Change in diet and lifestyle is how one can easily manage urinary incontinence:

There are certain foods and items that trigger incontinence therefore general advice is to avoid or stop eating them. These include foods that are spicy, honey, caffeine, alcohol, sodas, vinegar, chocolate, tomatoes, fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners, dairy, and citrus juices.

 Excess or extra weight or belly fat puts immense pressure on your bladder leading to exertion over your bladder and consequent loss of control. Therefore, regular physical exercise is recommended as one of the best remedies. 

Low levels of Vitamin D can also lead to urinary incontinence. You can get enough vitamin D in your diet from natural foods like egg yolks, mushrooms, fatty fish, soya milk, cheese, cereals, and other dairy products. Magnesium plays a role in improving incontinence by reducing bladder muscle spasms and enabling the bladder to fully empty. Therefore, you should ensure the intake of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and seafood.

Urinary Incontinence is a very common condition, which increases with a person’s age and life. With early diagnosis news, it is treatable with non-surgical methods with slight changes in lifestyle but severe cases require urology surgery. One of the most common issues with this condition is the embarrassing stigma surrounding it, which is one of the main reasons why people do not seek help by visiting a doctor or a clinic, or even confide or share with family or friends. 

[cochranlaw]

Who Can I Sue for Hernia Mesh Complications in Michigan?

If you have had a hernia mesh repair procedure performed and suffered serious side-effects or had to have the procedure redone, contact a good hernia mesh lawyer in Michigan, to evaluate your case and assist you with a possible claim.

What is hernia mesh?

Hernia mesh is a surgical product or medical device commonly used in hernia repair surgeries. In the USA, nearly a million of these surgeries are performed annually, and hernia mesh is used in about 90% of hernia repair surgeries.

A hernia develops when abdominal tissues separate, and organs or parts of an organ slip through the opening. It may cause lumps, pain, and sometimes obstruction. 

Most common types of hernias include:

Umbilical,     in the belly button 

Inguinal,     in the groin area 

Epigastric     or ventral, in the wall of the abdomen

Hiatal,     when the stomach pushes into the chest area

Femoral,     top of the leg near your groin 

Incisional, when a surgical wound     fails to heal

The hernia mesh device made of synthetic materials such as polypropylene which may degrade after implantation. It is used to stabilize the tissue surrounding the opening and to close off the opening. 

Some mesh products have degraded, broken, punctured bowel and caused bowel obstruction and infections, fistulas, and repeat surgeries. Atrium Medical coated their devices with Omega 3 from fish oil to stop it from adhering to other tissues; however, did not prevent it from sticking. It has caused major infections and allergic reactions. 

Hernia mesh materials are like that used for surgical repair products such as transvaginal mesh and bladder sling devices, which have also resulted in thousands of personal injuries and medical devices lawsuits.

Common Injuries of Hernia Mesh Implants

Adhesions

Erosion     of the implant device

Mesh     failure

Abdominal     pain

Groin     and testicular pain

Migration

Infections

Recurrence of the hernia 

Most Serious Injuries in Hernia Mesh Cases

Perforation     of organs or tissues and organ damage

Bowel     obstruction

Fistulas

Seromas

Chronic     pain

Life-threatening     infections

Multiple     surgeries

Autoimmune     problems

Delayed     or long-term consequences

Wrongful death

Hernia Mesh Firms

Several hernia mesh manufacturers are involved in these cases, most notably

•           Ethicon (a Johnson & Johnson Company); 

•           Atrium Medical; 

•           Bard (Bard Davol)

•           Gore

•           Covidien / Medtronic

 Who Can I Sue?

Medical malpractice cases are lengthy, expensive to litigate and complicated, and you should contact a good personal injury lawyer or a hernia mesh lawyer. 

You can sue any of your medical providers, the institution or hospital where you had your surgery and aftercare done, or the hernia mesh manufacturer. You must meet all the requirements for a medical malpractice case for each defendant. 

As in all medical malpractice cases, you need to satisfy all four of the following components:

Duty     of Care – exact responsible parties

Breach     of duty - negligence

Causal     connection – must have directly caused the harm; and

Actual loss or harm – quantified.

Several of the thousands of claims filed against manufacturers have been pooled into MDLs (multidistrict litigations) for the purpose of increased efficiencies and speeding up pre-trial activities as well as rapid execution should a settlement be reached. In Canada, a few class-actions have been formed. For some manufacturers, there are not enough complaints to pool. Your personal injury lawyer in Michigan can give you details about these cases. Look for an attorney with a medical background because they have more insight and experience in medical issues. 

Breach of Duty of Care for a Hernia Mesh Manufacturer would include:

1.         Defective product 

Faulty     design

Faulty     manufacturing

Product     not sterile

Marketing defects

2.         Failure to provide adequate warning of foreseeable side-effects and complications.

[sumitchoudhari-blog]

Soft Tissue Repair Market by Technology & End-User - 2023 | Market Research Future

The Global Soft Tissue Repair Market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. It is anticipated that the market held a valuation of USD 5200 million in 2017 and is projected to register a CAGR of 6.2% over the forecast period.

The rising cases of sports-related injuries and technological advancements are some of the key factors driving the soft tissue repair market. For instance, in 2016, Colorado Therapeutics received FDA approval for its xenograft implant. The xenograft implant is designed for the surgical repair of damaged or ruptured membranes.

Various other factors such as increasing awareness about orthopedic disorders and other related conditions, improvement in reimbursement policies, untapped emerging markets, and increasing healthcare expenditure are also expected to propel the growth of the market.

However, the high cost of advanced equipment and a shortage of physicians in emerging markets can hamper market growth over the forecast period.

Segmentation

The global soft tissue repair market is segmented based on product, application, end user, and region.

the global market for soft tissue repair, by product, is segmented into fixation products, tissue patch/match, laparoscopic instrument, and others. The fixation products segment is further classified as a suture, suture anchors, and interference screw. The tissue patch/match segment is further classified as biological, and synthetic. The biological segment includes allograft and xenograft.

Based on application, the market is segmented into orthopedic surgery, skin repair, hernia repair, vaginal sling repair, dental reconstruction, cardiovascular surgery, breast reconstruction, and others.

Based on end user, the market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, research & academic institutes, and others.

In the current scope of the study, the segments mentioned above are covered into the four global regions, namely, the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and African region.

The soft tissue repair market in the Americas has further been segmented into North America and South America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada.

The European soft tissue repair market has been segmented into Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Western Europe has been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe.  The soft tissue repair market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. The soft tissue repair market in the Middle East & Africa has been segmented into the Middle East and Africa.

Regional Market Summary

The Americas dominated the global market for soft tissue repair owing to the increasing healthcare expenditure presence of major market players and rising geriatric population within the region. As per the data suggested by the United Census Bureau, by 2060, the US is projected to grow by 79 million people, from about 326 million today to 404 million. The population is projected to cross the 400-million threshold in 2058.

In 2017, it was estimated that Europe stood second in the global soft tissue repair market. Robust research and development (R&D) sector along with the availability of funding opportunities in research and innovation will support the market growth.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expected to represent the phenomenal market growth throughout the forecast period due to increasing demand for medical technology, growing health awareness, and growing aging population coupled with the rising prevalence of orthopedic diseases in India, Japan, and Australia. For instance, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in 2016, around 12.4% of the population in the region was 60 years or older and is projected to reach to more than 1.3 billion by 2050.

On the other hand, the Middle East and Africa held the least share in the global soft tissue repair market due to the low economic development, especially within the African region.

Key Players

Some of the key players in the global soft tissue repair market are Stryker Corporation, C.R. Bard, Inc., Arthrex, Inc., Integra LifeScience Corporation, Depuy Synthes, Smith & Nephew plc, Allergan Plc., Athersys, Inc., CryoLife, Inc., Medtronic Plc., Organogenesis Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Lifenet Health, Inc., American Medical Systems Inc., U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., Wright Medical Group, Inc., Isto Biologics, and others.

Browse Complete 90 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Respective Tables and Figures at @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/soft-tissue-repair-market-7810

Detailed Table Of Contents

1 Report Prologue

2 Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope Of The Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

2.3 Market Structure

2.4. Market Segmentation

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Process

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

5 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restraints

4.3 Opportunities

4.4 Mega Trends

4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators

5 Market Factor analysis

5.1 Porter’s Five Force Analysis

5.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Buyer

5.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Supplier

5.1.3 Threat From Substitute

5.1.4 Threat From A New Entrant

5.1.5 Intensity Of Competitive Rivalry

TOC Continued…

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[isuporg]

Sling for Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a condition that affects women due to old age and post childbirth. It’s one of the easiest health issues to solve and this is the reason why some people are able to speak about this condition. The medically recommended solution for this condition is undergoing sling.  This vaginal surgery could help when other conservative treatments such as Kegel exercises, injectable implants, and pelvic exercises fail.  The sling for urinary incontinence is like a hammock that uses pieces of human tissue or synthetic material to create a pelvic sling around the bladder and urethra.

Before considering sling for urinary incontinence, consider the following: – Ensure you are done with childbearing. The strain of pregnancy may undo surgical fixes, especially on urethra and bladder. – Thorough pelvic examination should be done before you are diagnosed with this condition. – Damaged nerves and muscles that cause incontinence cannot be repaired. – Physical therapy and medication may be needed to treat mixed incontinence. – There are potential complications and risks such as urinary tract infection, temporary difficulty in urinary retention, painful intercourse, and development of an overactive bladder.

The surgery involves placing stitches near the bladder neck and securing it to a ligament near the pelvis bone cartilage. As the tissues grow, it gets permanently fixed. This will keep the urethra closed and prevent the bladder neck from sagging. Stitches are trimmed so that they don’t protrude from the skin It’s completed in a matter of 40 to 50 minutes under general anesthesia. Bladder augmentation, botox injections, and sacral nerve stimulation are the procedures used in overactive bladder. Bulking agents such as carbon-coated zirconium and collagen can be injected into the surrounding tissue of the urethra. It’s temporary and can be repeated every 5 to 15 months.

Sling for urinary incontinence helps in prevention of embarrassing situations urine leakage. The success rate is 90 to 95 % for five years.

The post Sling for Urinary Incontinence appeared first on ISUPorg.

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[lilywhiteflower-blog]

Female Pelvic Implants Market - Detailed information regarding the key factors influencing the growth 2017-2025

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Overview

Female pelvic implants are devices inserted inside a female’s vaginal area to treat some particular disorders such as stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. These vaginal disorders are typically prevalent in aged females, and disrupt the regular life of women to a great extent due to discomfort. The disorders can be treated by surgical processes and with or without prosthetic implants. The primary products utilized in the process of implantation of female pelvic implants are vaginal grafts, vaginal mesh implants, vaginal tapes and vaginal slings.

On the basis of product, the global female pelvic implants market is segmented into non-absorbable synthetic, absorbable synthetic, biologic, and composite. Based on the end-use, the market is split into hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.

This report on the female pelvic implants market takes into consideration the different threats faced by the implants industry, along with the new opportunities that vendors may face. Trends that will positively impact the market are taken into consideration while writing this report. The global female pelvic implants market has been analyzed on the basis of product segment, by indication, end-user and finally on the basis of geography.

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Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Key Trends

The growing awareness towards following a value based healthcare model is expected to work towards augmenting the global female pelvic implants market. A number of regulatory bodies and governments are encouraging cost-containment in order to curtail healthcare costs and burden. This leads to an outcome-based pricing model, due to a large shift from volume to value-based systems. The resultant risk sharing and competitive tendering is expected to positively impact the trajectory of the global female pelvic implants market.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Market Potential

In recent times, there have been a number of reports regarding the ill-effects of using female pelvic implants. There have been reports of health issues such as infection and erosion of the pelvic mesh used. Moreover, the there are numerous complications in the procedure of implant, rendering enterprises reluctant to jump into the market wholeheartedly. Manufacturers have till now been charged with roughly 650 lawsuits on account of painful injuries caused due to the implants.

Recently, companies such as AMS, Promedon, Betatech, AMS and Aspide Medical have exited this market. However, companies that still prevail in the global female pelvic implants market are Ethicon, PFM Medical, Boston Scientific and Coloplast.

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Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Regional Outlook

On the basis of geographical segmentation, the global female pelvic implants market has been segmented into five major regions of Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The report illuminates the leading as well as the fastest growing region in the global female pelvic implants market along with justification for the region’s position.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Competitive Analysis

Prominent vendors in the global female pelvic implants market include Acumed LLC, DePuy Synthes, Pfm Medical, Stryker, C.R. Bard, Coloplast, and Ethicon.

Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @

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[priyankaganguly-blog]

Female Pelvic Implants Market – Survey On Product Awareness 2025

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Snapshot

Female pelvic in plants is a procedure which is used for treating stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. In the markets today, there are three main types of implants which are used for this procedure. They are, vaginal mesh implants, vaginal Graft in plants, and vaginal sling. Among these, it is the vagina slings which is expected to show promising growth in the years to come. Vagina slings can be implanted in half an hour and is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that is witnessing high popularity. Another segment which is expected to see growth in the years to come is the vaginal graft segment.

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The female pelvic implants Market is anticipated to witness a sluggish growth on account of the growing number of complications in the implant procedures. Thousands of women have undergone traumatic complications due to vaginal mesh and had to undergo another surgery in order to remove mesh implants. Such negative responses of patients is the reason behind the sluggish growth of the global female pelvic implants market. However there is no legal ban on the use of female pelvic implants and this is expected to be a positive factor going in the forward direction for this market. Therefore surgeons as well as patients across the globe are still undergoing surgical mesh implant procedures as well as using other  female pelvic implants. But, it is the responsibility of Manufacturers to submit safety data requirements for pre-market approval of surgical mesh implants.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Overview

Female pelvic implants are devices inserted inside a female’s vaginal area to treat some particular disorders such as stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. These vaginal disorders are typically prevalent in aged females, and disrupt the regular life of women to a great extent due to discomfort. The disorders can be treated by surgical processes and with or without prosthetic implants. The primary products utilized in the process of implantation of female pelvic implants are vaginal grafts, vaginal mesh implants, vaginal tapes and vaginal slings.

Request TOC of the Report @

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3212

On the basis of product, the global female pelvic implants market is segmented into non-absorbable synthetic, absorbable synthetic, biologic, and composite. Based on the end-use, the market is split into hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.

This report on the female pelvic implants market takes into consideration the different threats faced by the implants industry, along with the new opportunities that vendors may face. Trends that will positively impact the market are taken into consideration while writing this report. The global female pelvic implants market has been analyzed on the basis of product segment, by indication, end-user and finally on the basis of geography.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Key Trends

The growing awareness towards following a value based healthcare model is expected to work towards augmenting the global female pelvic implants market. A number of regulatory bodies and governments are encouraging cost-containment in order to curtail healthcare costs and burden. This leads to an outcome-based pricing model, due to a large shift from volume to value-based systems. The resultant risk sharing and competitive tendering is expected to positively impact the trajectory of the global female pelvic implants market.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Market Potential

In recent times, there have been a number of reports regarding the ill-effects of using female pelvic implants. There have been reports of health issues such as infection and erosion of the pelvic mesh used. Moreover, the there are numerous complications in the procedure of implant, rendering enterprises reluctant to jump into the market wholeheartedly. Manufacturers have till now been charged with roughly 650 lawsuits on account of painful injuries caused due to the implants.

Recently, companies such as AMS, Promedon, Betatech, AMS and Aspide Medical have exited this market. However, companies that still prevail in the global female pelvic implants market are Ethicon, PFM Medical, Boston Scientific and Coloplast.

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Regional Outlook

On the basis of geographical segmentation, the global female pelvic implants market has been segmented into five major regions of Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The report illuminates the leading as well as the fastest growing region in the global female pelvic implants market along with justification for the region’s position.

Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @

https://www.tmrresearch.com/female-pelvic-implants-market

Global Female Pelvic Implants Market: Competitive Analysis

Prominent vendors in the global female pelvic implants market include Acumed LLC, DePuy Synthes, Pfm Medical, Stryker, C.R. Bard, Coloplast, and Ethicon.

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Vaginal mesh has caused health problems in many women, even as some surgeons vouch for its safety and efficacy

Regina Stepherson needed surgery for rectocele, a prolapse of the wall between the rectum and the vagina. Her surgeons said that her bladder also needed to be lifted and did so with vaginal mesh, a surgical mesh used to reinforce the bladder.

Following the surgery in 2010, Stepherson, then 48. said she suffered debilitating symptoms for two years. An active woman who rode horses, Stepherson said she had constant pain, trouble walking, fevers off and on, weight loss, nausea and lethargy after the surgery. She spent days sitting on the couch, she said.

In August 2012, Stepherson and her daughter saw an ad relating to vaginal mesh that mentioned 10 symptoms and said that if you had them, to call a lawyer.

“My daughter said, ‘Oh mom — you have every one of those,’ ” Stepherson, of Tyler, Tex., recalled.

Vaginal mesh, used to repair and improve weakened pelvic tissues, is implanted in the vaginal wall. It was initially — in 1998 — thought to be a safe and easy solution for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence.

But over time, complications were reported, including chronic inflammation, and mesh that shrinks and becomes encased in scar tissue causing pain, infection and protrusion through the vaginal wall.

Katrina Spradley had a vaginal mesh implanted in 2008. Years later, she started having physical problems. A physician discovered that the device had eroded through Spradley’s vagina. (Terry Spradley)

Katrina Spradley, then 49, was about to have a hysterectomy in April 2008. She said that she told her physician that she also had urinary issues — every time she would laugh, cough or sneeze, she would leak urine. It happened so often that she would wear sanitary pads. A urologist was consulted and determined that implanting vaginal mesh at the same time as the hysterectomy would repair her bladder problem, she said.

Spradley, of Dawson, Ga., also had endometriosis — a condition resulting from the appearance of endometrial tissue outside the uterus that most commonly causes pain (painful periods, heavy bleeding, pain with sexual intercourse). And so, when after the surgery, she began having stomach cramps, she thought that was the reason. Physicians told her there was nothing wrong, she said.

In 2011, a urine test she took for her truck-driving license showed blood. Later, while having sex with her husband, his penis got scratched a few times. It took a visit to a physician with her husband to detail his discomfort to find mesh eroding through Spradley’s vagina, she said.

Chrissy Brajcic, a Canadian who struggled for four years with persistent infections following a mesh implant, became the face of mesh victims with a Facebook page. Brajcic died in December 2017 from sepsis at age 42.

About 3 million to 4 million women worldwide have had mesh implanted to treat urinary incontinence and prolapse, said Shlomo Raz, professor of urology and pelvic reconstruction at UCLA school of medicine. About 5 percent — or 150,000 to 200,000 — of those have complications, he said.

“But when you have complications, it’s hard to treat,” Raz said.

Among the complications: chronic pelvic pain, erosion of mesh into the vagina, incontinence, obstruction, pain in the groin, hip and leg, and pain during intercourse. Raz also believes, based on his experience, that 20 to 30 percent of the complications are what he calls “lupus-type,” causing runny nose, muscle pain, fogginess and lethargy. He bases this on the fact that, after removal, the patients are cured of these complications.

“If you remove mesh, and lupus-type symptoms disappear, the mesh is responsible,” Raz said.

Michael Thomas Margolis, assistant clinical professor at UCLA, has removed more than 600 mesh slings in patients since 1998. He has served as an expert witness on polypropylene mesh in lawsuits for plaintiffs and most recently for lawsuits filed by the states of Washington and California.

“I have never implanted through a woman’s vagina a polypropylene mesh or sling system ever, because of the complications,” Margolis said. “I had concerns when they first came out — but my concerns were the tip of the iceberg.”

Once the damage is done, it cannot be corrected, Margolis said.

The American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) and the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) support the use of polypropylene slings for stress incontinence. Their joint statement says that “Polypropylene material is safe and effective as a surgical implant.”

Raz and Margolis disagreed. Raz, who said that many of the AUGS physicians who wrote the positive position statement were his fellows, said: “I don’t agree based on my experience. I found that in the long run, we have created a monster, planting mesh in young women — some of them you can never cure.”

Margolis said that many of the authors of the AUGS and SUFU joint position statement “receive substantial money from mesh manufacturers.” He also said: “I have been a giant thorn in AUGS’s side. They should at least acknowledge their financial conflict of interest.”

According to the AUGS board of directors website, some of the directors do have financial interests in companies that make mesh.

Dionysios Veronikis, director of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, who has removed 250 to 300 mesh slings a year, said that problems result when a mesh is not implanted properly. He also said that women need to see a surgeon who does many of these surgeries. Their patients have fewer complications, Veronikis claimed.

He also said that “some of the [mesh] products have helped many women.”

“The slings I do, although synthetic, have helped many women,” he said. “I put the sling in differently. I don’t follow the instructions that are outlined because I have a unique skill set that allows me to make the operation fit the patient. I don’t make the patient fit the operation. That is the flaw. There is no one size fits all, and not every woman wears a size 7 shoe.”

Two years ago, Roxann Bentz was 67 and had a cystocele (prolapsed bladder) and some urinary incontinence. The Bucks County, Pa., woman researched physicians to repair the problem. Bentz, a registered nurse, was aware of poor outcomes and found a surgeon who specialized in the procedure. “I knew he had done many of these,” she said.

Bentz, an active woman who enjoys biking and canoeing, said the recovery was fine, and she has had no problems since the surgery.

Raz, who said he has removed 1,800 mesh implants in the past six years, said vaginal bacteria creates a potential for chronic mesh infection and pain in some patients, and mesh should not be used in the vagina.

“We took patients with pelvic pain and mesh complications and those without pain. We removed four segments. All of those with pelvic pain were positive for live bacteria in the mesh,” Raz said. “Those without pain had no DNA positive for bacteria in mesh.”

More than 100,000 lawsuits have been filed against makers of mesh, according to ConsumerSafety.org, making it “one of the largest mass torts in history.”

In October 2016, a judge upheld a $14.3 million jury award for three women who were injured by a Boston Scientific mesh device, and in 2015, Boston Scientific announced a settlement of $457 million for 6,000 mesh lawsuits.

Kate Haranis, a spokeswoman for Boston Scientific, said the company stands behind its products and noted that “Nearly one million women have been successfully treated with Boston Scientific Urogynecologic mesh and our pelvic floor therapies are supported by more than 60 clinical publications.”

Lawsuits have been filed by the states of Washington, California, Kentucky and Mississippi against mesh maker Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Ethicon, saying that product marketing should have provided more detail about the risks. They accuse the company of deceiving physicians and patients, and say the mesh has destroyed the quality of life for some of them, according to the Associated Press.

In response, 63 surgeons in Washington wrote a letter in December to state Attorney General Robert Ferguson denying that they were misled, and expressing the concern that the lawsuit would “eliminate the mid urethral mesh sling as a treatment option for women in Washington.” This, they said, would have a negative impact because the sling is standard surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence.

Jeffrey L. Clemons and two other physicians who signed the letter disclosed they had been retained by the defense, but that they were not being paid nor receiving any assistance.

Ethicon called the lawsuit filed by Kentucky “unjustified” and said “the company plans to vigorously defend itself against the allegations.”

Among the more notable settlements: In April, a New Jersey jury awarded $68 million to Mary McGinnis for her debilitating injuries caused by a mesh made by medical device company C.R. Bard (Mary McGinnis v. C.R. Bard, Inc.). The company said it would appeal, and that McGinnis was aware of the risks.

Endo International settled 22,000 mesh lawsuits in 2017 for $775 million and said its president and chief executive, Paul Campanelli, called it “a very important milestone for Endo to have reached agreements to resolve virtually all known U.S. mesh product liability claims.”

In 2008, according to the Food and Drug Administration, “the number of adverse events reported to the FDA for surgical mesh devices to repair POP [pelvic organ prolapse] and SUI [stress urinary incontinence] for the previous 3-year-period (2005-2007) was ‘over 1000.’ ” The agency said the complications included mesh erosion through the vagina, pain, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse, organ perforation and urinary problems.

From 2008 to 2010, the FDA received 2,874 reports of complications associated with surgical mesh. The FDA’s literature review found that erosion of mesh through the vagina is the most common and consistently reported mesh-related complication.

According to a study published last year, all surgical meshes in the United States were cleared by the FDA’s 510(k) process, “in which devices simply require proof of ‘substantial equivalence’ to predicate devices, without the need for clinical trials.” The study also said that “recalled meshes associated with adverse effects may, indirectly, continue to serve as predicates for new devices raising concerns over the safety of the 510(k) route.” The authors conclude that improvements for regulation are “urgently required.”

An FDA spokeswoman said that the agency is making improvements. The agency reclassified surgical mesh in 2016 for transvaginal pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair from Class II (which includes moderate-risk devices) to Class III (which includes high-risk devices). “FDA is reclassifying these devices based on the determination that general controls and special controls together are not sufficient to provide reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for this device, and these devices present a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury,” the final order reads.

In addition, the agency is, “issuing postmarket surveillance orders to 34 manufacturers who had cleared 510(k)s for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse,” the spokeswoman said. As a result of the FDA’s actions, she said, “all manufacturers ceased marketing of surgical mesh intended for transvaginal repair of posterior compartment prolapse (rectocele). Only three surgical mesh products intended for transvaginal repair of anterior compartment prolapse (cystocele) remain legally marketed.”

The FDA is also planning an advisory meeting on Feb. 12 to share evidence and expert opinion about the safety and effectiveness of transvaginal mesh.

Margolis said removing mesh that has scarred into place is like trying to remove bubble gum from hair or rebar from concrete.

“I have seen women with their vaginas essentially mutilated. So scarred and disformed as a result of the chronic inflammation and scarring from the mesh as to be left with a nonfunctional vagina or dysfunctional bladder and urethra,” Margolis said. “When tissue, the vagina, bladder or bowel is damaged enough, no surgeon can fix the tissue past a certain point — and I see that with great regularity, even after mesh was implanted years before.”

If women are concerned about complications because of a mesh, what should they do if they are plagued by stress incontinence or prolapse?

There are nonsurgical options, such as Kegel exercise and pessaries, that can help with stress incontinence, Margolis said.

Raz and Margolis prefer slings made from organic, biologic material such as tissue or tendons from their own patients.

Margolis also said that the Burch procedure, a surgical procedure in which the neck of the bladder is suspended from nearby ligaments with suture is excellent, but noted that it, too, can fail.

Vaginal mesh is no longer being used in Australia, Ireland and Scotland. In July, the United Kingdom instituted a temporary ban while long-term damage is assessed.

[lawyer4help]

THE TRUTH BEHIND TRANSVAGINAL MESH LITIGATION

A vast number of women have taken legal action against the transvaginal mesh in recent years. The lawsuits have alleged various physical complications and autoimmune problems caused by the transvaginal mesh.

Here, the claims on transvaginal mesh filled in the U.S. are analyzed to identify their characteristics for clinical decision making.

What Is Transvaginal Mesh?

Transvaginal mesh is a net-like synthetic surgical tool used to treat pelvic organ prolapse among female patients. Organ pelvic prolapse is a condition that makes women leak from their bladder while doing activities like running, jumping or even sneezing and coughing.

It provides extra support to repair damaged or weakened internal tissues. It is implanted in the vagina vis surgical procedure. Transvaginal mesh can be also be known as sling, tape or hammock. It is usually impossible to remove the implant after it has been implanted.

Problems Described in the Transvaginal Litigation

Women who received the implant filed lawsuits claiming that they suffered from painful injuries. The complications include pain, bleeding, organ perforation, infection and autoimmune problems. According to the lawsuit, these ladies experienced issues walking, sitting, and engaging in other high-impact activities.

The problems described by the women who received the implant were so bad that they had to suffer multiple revision surgeries to remove the implant. Studies show that bacterial infections can grow on the implants.

The implant damages internal organs causing erosion in the vaginal wall. In addition, the implant cuts through tissues and damages nerves that cause pain during impact activities. In some claims, the mesh blocks the bladder, which causes urinary problems.

Studies show that in most cases, the complications were relatively minor. However, in some cases, the complications were severe. Studies also show that the implant can fail even after surgery, causing recurring prolapse. Some women even experience worsened unitary incontinence.

Allegations against Manufacturers

Five companies manufactured transvaginal mesh in the United States. American Medical System, Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Ethicon and Proxy Biomedical are transvaginal mesh manufacturers.

The lawsuit claims that the manufacturer had a legal duty to ensure the safety and effectiveness of its products. But the patients were misled with false information. According to a study in 2017, the products were cleared against the charge based on weak evidence.

● Lack of proper test of the implant

● Lack of research on the risk of the implant

● Failing to create a compelling and safe method to remove the implant

● Inadequate in waring the potential complications and injuries to the patients

● Misleading the patients, medical community and the public about the effectiveness of the product

The manufacturing companies have agreed to settle outstanding lawsuits and have set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for this. As of November 2019, Ethicon faced 1,202 lawsuits, followed by Boston Scientific with 965, American Medical with 80 and Bard with 16.

Current Controversy Surrounding Transvaginal Mesh

As of November 2019, more than 108,000 lawsuits have been filed against the mesh manufacturer.

More than 2,263 lawsuits are still pending. One of the largest settlements to date was $830 million for 20,000 claims.

In 2019, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration stopped all sales of transvaginal mesh for pelvic organ prolapse treatment. In the short-term clinical trial, studies found high efficiency and low complication rate in the transvaginal mesh implant for unitary incontinence. However, there is huge evidence of low efficiency and high complication rate for pelvic organ prolapse treatment.

The UK NHS study shows that one in 15 women who had the implant later removed them surgically. In a survey of 2,220 women who received the transvaginal mesh implant, 59% said that the treatment did not resolve the original issue. 58% of women said that they experienced pain during physical activity.

Settlement and Verdicts

So far, mesh manufacturers have paid billions for the lawsuit settlements. As of February 2019, 32 women had filed cases in the state court, out of which 24 women received a jury award of $345 million. The mesh manufacturer has paid $8 billion in settlement of the lawsuit.

As of March 2021, Boston Scientific agreed to settle deceptive marketing claims by paying $188.7 million.

Final words!

The transvaginal mesh litigation involves a sling for the procedure. However, the rise in the lawsuit does not reflect low complication rates in the report. The complication seems to be expected in women who had received the implant to treat pelvic organ prolapse.

New treatments are trialled on patients when other treatments have proven ineffective. However, patients should always be informed about the treatment and its efficiency to give informed consent for the procedure.

The patient should be comfortable asking their specialist about the procedure and complication rates. They should feel comfortable with the evidence that the surgery will work.