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A man who was denied compensation for a failed hernia operation that has caused him permanent pain has welcomed ACC’s decision to review decisions on surgical mesh claims.
ACC announced the review Wednesday, which would reevaluate 377 rejected mesh injury claims since 2005.
The new guidelines would consider the latest medical evidence and understanding of mesh injuries, ACC Client Director Emma Powell said.
Father of three and former engineer Joachim Spod, 53, collapsed in pain 18 months after his mesh hernia surgery in 2011. He has never returned to work full time.
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His pain increased over time to the point where he became addicted to fentanyl.
His claim for coverage was rejected by ACC in 2013 and his surgeon said he had never had any other patients respond as Spod.
Spod said he would definitely ask to have his decision reviewed.
“I have nothing to lose”.
Jo Spod / Supplied
Surgical mesh found near Jo Spod’s bladder following a complication from hernia repair surgery.
In 2013, in utter desperation, Spod wrote to numerous surgeons asking for help.
A surgeon agreed to perform an exploratory procedure in an effort to address what he assumed to be neuropathic pain. He couldn’t find the cause.
Spod returned to him after the procedure failed to improve his pain. In another surgery, a few months later, the surgeon found the wrinkled hernia mesh near her bladder and removed it.
Another mesh was used to repair the original hernia site, but the pain has continued.
“It is always there. It feels like someone has pulled my belt up three notches too tight.
“I tell my male friends that it feels like getting kicked between the legs and that it can still be felt the next day.”
Spod has never received any compensation from ACC.
“I’m not on a crusade or anything like that. I guess they didn’t evaluate me fairly back then … and if they find out that I’m suffering from something completely different, I’m very happy to hear it. I just want to get better. “
A restorative justice process last year gave injured people the opportunity to speak out about the harm they had experienced, including the emotional harm resulting from interactions with ACC.
Matt Shand / Stuff
Jo Spod has been living with hernia pain after a mesh procedure for seven years. Photographed at home in the Bay of Plenty.
Powell said ACC heard how their claims experience had “contributed to the harm that some people experienced.”
“We recognize the severity and impact of damage to people with surgical mesh injuries and the need for us to improve our systems and processes.
“We are committed to taking meaningful steps to improve the claims experience and health outcomes for people treated with mesh.”
An initial look at a sample of rejected claims showed that applying the new evidence and understanding would lead to different decisions for some claims, he said.
Supplied / Stuff
Charlotte Korte, Carmel Berry and Patricia Sullivan are the founders of Mesh Down Under, a support and advocacy group for people injured by surgical mesh.
The review would not mean that decisions on all denied claims would be overturned.
In some cases, ACC may agree that a rejected claim warrants further investigation, Powell said.
Spod said the move showed how much attitudes had changed, and he believed it was the result of advocacy work done by advocacy group Mesh Down Under.
The group has been campaigning for severe and life-altering trauma from government-recognized mesh complications since 2014.
Mesh Down Under co-founder Patricia Sullivan said the group had fought “tooth and nail” to have the rejected claims reassessed.
The group thanked ACC for offering the mesh reevaluation, which was part of their commitment to the restorative justice process.
The group would wait and see “how many claims decisions are overturned or new claims are accepted before we can say that this process has been a success,” Sullivan said.
“We are cautiously optimistic, but we want full transparency and have asked for independent oversight of the process.”
