Coloplast Male Sling

Hello Windog,

My urologist implanted a Coloplast Virtue male sling last July without my consent. I had consented to an American Medical System Advance type sling which is MUCH less complex and/or invasive than the Coloplast Virtue sling.

It was perhaps the worst experience of my life. It not only made my incontinence much worse but also caused wide spread intolerable pain. I went from 1-2 pads per day to 4-5 pads per day with the Virtue sling. Powerful narcotic drugs did little to lessen the horrendous and continuous pain.

Neither Coloplast nor the urologist that implanted this tortuous device was of any help. After five months of suffering, I was finally able to have the Virtue sling explanted (removed) by a pelvic reconstruction specialist at The Cleveland Clinic.

Near the completion of this 3 1/2 hour surgery, the surgeon implanted an AdVance sling by American Medical Systems. The results has been fantastic! I am 100% dry for the first time in ten years. I can cough, sneeze, blow my nose and jump up and down and not loose a single drop.

It has now been almost six months since the sling swap. Urinating has nearly returned to a normal condition for me. It takes slightly more effort but not bad at all.

I still suffer from continuous scrotal pain and additional pain where the lower mesh arms, of the Virtue sling, were wrapped around the lower bones of my pelvis (rami). Before the Virtue sling was removed, I felt like I was sitting on a broom handle any time I was seated. It also felt like the urologist had sewn a thick plastic credit card inside my scrotum. It could easily be felt inside by anyone during an exam.

It also felt like two pencil sized rods extended from this credit card like formation, in my scrotum, to the point where the highly tensioned mesh sling material was wrapped around my lower pelvic bones. This rod like mesh could also easily be felt just slightly under the surface of my skin at the creases of both legs in my groin area. It was a miserable and stinging sensation.

Since the reconstruction surgeon cut out as much of the Virtue sling as possible, it now feels like I am sitting on a large rope. A slight improvement but am still mentally preparing for a life of pain from the Virtue sling fiasco due to nerve damage and associated scar tissue.

If you search Healingwell's site for Tallman's journey with the Virtue sling, you will learn that he did not fare much better. I can also direct you to a person in Ottawa that experienced pain almost identical to mine.

You can also Google FDA'a MAUDE Adverse Event Reports.
Just type in "Virtue" in the Model blank, set the search dates from 01 January 2009 to present and set the number of responses to 50. As of today, you will see 27 reports of Adverse Reports for the Virtue that required "intervention".

This device has been in Clinical Trials for more than one year now. I am not aware of Coloplast releasing any information so far regarding reported problems with this device.

I would suggest that anyone considering a male sling do a lot of research first and consider the history of the implant device and the experience their urologist including not only their urologist experience their experience with the exact device that you are considering. It is a major decision!

Feel free to contact me by email if I can be of help.

Best wishes,

John

male_sling_problems said...
Hello Windog,

My urologist implanted a Coloplast Virtue male sling last July without my consent. I had consented to an American Medical System Advance type sling which is MUCH less complex and/or invasive than the Coloplast Virtue sling.

It was perhaps the worst experience of my life. It not only made my incontinence much worse but also caused wide spread intolerable pain. I went from 1-2 pads per day to 4-5 pads per day with the Virtue sling. Powerful narcotic drugs did little to lessen the horrendous and continuous pain.

Neither Coloplast nor the urologist that implanted this tortuous device was of any help. After five months of suffering, I was finally able to have the Virtue sling explanted (removed) by a pelvic reconstruction specialist at The Cleveland Clinic.

Near the completion of this 3 1/2 hour surgery, the surgeon implanted an AdVance sling by American Medical Systems. The results has been fantastic! I am 100% dry for the first time in ten years. I can cough, sneeze, blow my nose and jump up and down and not loose a single drop.

It has now been almost six months since the sling swap. Urinating has nearly returned to a normal condition for me. It takes slightly more effort but not bad at all.

I still suffer from continuous scrotal pain and additional pain where the lower mesh arms, of the Virtue sling, were wrapped around the lower bones of my pelvis (rami). Before the Virtue sling was removed, I felt like I was sitting on a broom handle any time I was seated. It also felt like the urologist had sewn a thick plastic credit card inside my scrotum. It could easily be felt inside by anyone during an exam.

It also felt like two pencil sized rods extended from this credit card like formation, in my scrotum, to the point where the highly tensioned mesh sling material was wrapped around my lower pelvic bones. This rod like mesh could also easily be felt just slightly under the surface of my skin at the creases of both legs in my groin area. It was a miserable and stinging sensation.

Since the reconstruction surgeon cut out as much of the Virtue sling as possible, it now feels like I am sitting on a large rope. A slight improvement but am still mentally preparing for a life of pain from the Virtue sling fiasco due to nerve damage and associated scar tissue.

If you search Healingwell's site for Tallman's journey with the Virtue sling, you will learn that he did not fare much better. I can also direct you to a person in Ottawa that experienced pain almost identical to mine.

You can also Google FDA'a MAUDE Adverse Event Reports.
Just type in "Virtue" in the Model blank, set the search dates from 01 January 2009 to present and set the number of responses to 50. As of today, you will see 27 reports of Adverse Reports for the Virtue that required "intervention".

This device has been in Clinical Trials for more than one year now. I am not aware of Coloplast releasing any information so far regarding reported problems with this device.

I would suggest that anyone considering a male sling do a lot of research first and consider the history of the implant device and the experience their urologist including not only their urologist experience but also their experience with the exact device that you are considering. It is a major decision!

Feel free to contact me by email if I can be of help.

Best wishes,

John

Post Edited (male_sling_problems) : 6/14/2010 9:51:45 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks for your interest. It has now been slightly more than six months since I had my nightmarish Coloplast Virtue sling surgically removed and an American Medical System Advance sling implanted.

The AdVance sling has been fantastic! In spite of the scaring and nerve damage caused by the Coloplast Virtue sling fiasco, I am completely dry for the first time in ten years.

I can sneeze, cough, blow up balloons, lift heavy objects, climb stairs/ladders and not spill one drop. I can also usually sleep the entire night without the former multiple trips to the bathroom.

For the first couple of months, following the AdVance surgery, I had to be very aware of "urge" incontinence but that has nearly returned to normal.

I now need to do 3-4 Kegel type squeezes at the end of urination to "squeeze" out the last few drops but my guess is that this exercise actually strengthens bladder control.

I would like to make a couple of suggestions. First, make certain the surgeon you choose has a lot of experience with the sling of your choice. Also ask your surgeon about his patient's success rate with his sling procedures.

I would also encourage you to ask your surgeon to start you on a good stool softener, like a low dose of Polyethylene Glycol, about one week before sling surgery. This should help offset the dreaded constipation caused by narcotic pain killers following surgery.

I required medical intervention following both sling surgeries due to constipation. I am of the opinion this laxative (stool softener), taken in advance, would have spared me much of this constipation misery.

Please feel free to email me if I can be of further help. By email, I can give you my telephone number if you would like more details.

Best wishes,

John