Protesters warn people about surgical mesh

A group of people rallied in front of Saskatoon City Hospital on Saturday to warn people about the potential dangers of surgical mesh.

Mesh is an implant made of polypropylene material that's surgically inserted in the vagina. It is often used to treat involuntary urination and pelvic organ prolapse.

In 2010, Health Canada warned hospitals about the side effects.

Marika English, who was at the rally, said she had surgical mesh implanted during a hysterectomy in Saskatoon. A few weeks after the procedure, English said she started experiencing severe pain.

"It's like a vice grip clamping onto my stomach with, like, razor blades on it," English said.

She eventually travelled to a California and paid $30,000 to have it removed. English said she wants to help prevent what happened to her from happening to anyone else.

"I have to fight for other women so they don't have to go through what I did," she said. "It wrecks marriages, it wrecks lives. Truly it does."

Stephanie Brad, who was also rallying in Saskatoon, had mesh implanted in 2006. Brad said she'll be travelling to California in July for the same $30,000 procedure to remove the mesh.

"I don't do very much with my kids because I can't walk," Brad said. "I can't sit or skate or bike or any of the things a mom should be able to do with her kids."

English and Brad are calling on the provincial government to stop the procedure or, at the very least, warn women about all the risks.

"You don't need to have this mesh put in your body," English said. "Doctors can repair you the way they used to do with your own tissue."

"The problem is they're choosing not to," she continued. "This is quick, this is easy, but there [are] a lot of side effects."