With a House of Commons debate focused on the serious complications now associated with the use of surgical mesh implants, a Stevenage woman has spoken out about how the procedure has ruined her life.

Mesh implants provide additional support when repairing weakened or damaged tissue, but more and more patients have been coming forward suffering complications, and class actions have been brought against manufacturers around the world.

A House of Commons debate on the procedure on April 19 resulted in the House calling on the Government to suspend prolapse and incontinence mesh operations while a retrospective audit is carried out.

Carole Davies, who lives in Stevenage, says her life has been hell since she had a tension-free vaginal tape operation due to a prolapsed bladder in 2007.

During a TVT operation, which takes about half-an-hour to perform, a piece of mesh made of prolene – a synthetic material – is inserted to replace tissue that has weakened and caused the pelvic organs to prolapse.

Carole, who is now 72, said: “My problems started almost imediately after the operation. I bled a lot and was in terrible pain.

“I’m still in a lot of pain and it has limiting effects on my life. I can’t stand for long, I can’t walk far and I can’t play with my grandchildren.

“It has caused me to wonder if life is worth living, and I want to get this poison out of me.”

Carole says she has paid to go privately to London’s Harley Street Clinic, where a doctor told her the mesh tape was eroding around her urethra.

Carole is due to undergo a series of tests and scans in the hope she will be given the green light for an operation to remove the TVT, but she says the removal could leave her paralysed.

Carole explained: “The tissue and nerve endings grow through the mesh, so if I have it removed I could end up losing the use of my legs, but I’m prepared to risk being paralysed to have it taken out of me.”

Carole is determined to raise awareness of her plight in a bid to prevent others from suffering. She said: “It’s too late for those of us who have already had it done. There is very little that can be done to reverse the damage that has been done to us and it’s basically ruined our lives, but it should be made much more public to save others going through the same pain and life-altering experiences.”