Mesh tears through Kolkata cancer survivor’s stomach, taken out

Kolkata: A 72-year-old female pancreatic cancer survivor, whose stomach was ripped by an intestinal mesh implanted to prevent a relapse of her hernia, was saved following a complex surgery performed by a team of doctors at a private hospital in Kolkata. The team managed to extract the implant and minimise the damage caused to her internal organs by the mesh that had started eroding. The woman's damaged intestines were repaired. This success showed that cancer patients or survivors can withstand critical surgeries, opined doctors.
The mesh was implanted in her body after she underwent a hernia repair surgery, followed by three other operations. Subsequently, she experienced acute abdominal pain and sought treatment at CMRI Hospital. Tests revealed that the mesh was causing the pain, resulting in a gastrointestinal (GI) fistula — a life-threatening condition where abnormal connections form between the intestines and other organs. "The patient's condition reached a critical stage.She underwent surgery thrice to restore her normal GI continuity," said Ajay Mandal, GI and hepato-biliary surgeon at CMRI.
The case presented significant challenges and required surgical precision, added Mandal. "Additionally, repairing the gastrointestinal fistula required meticulous planning and execution to restore normal intestinal function while ensuring the patient's overall stability," said Mandal.
Post-surgery, the patient showed remarkable improvement and is now on the path to recovery. "I lost all hopes of recovery when, despite multiple surgeries, the complications worsened. The pain was getting unbearable until the surgery cured it," said the patient.
Her digestive system went haywire, and whatever she ate was excreted with her stool.It reached a point where the patient started losing weight and suffered from malnutrition," Mandal said.