Press Release: QVF Partners With Mesh Warrior Foundation

Quinolone Vigilance Foundation announces partnership with The Mesh Warrior Foundation.

Press Release

Quinolone Vigilance Foundation, Mesh Warrior Foundation Join Forces to Raise Awareness of Dangers of Pharmaceutical Products

 Organizations Partner to Educate Patients and Doctors about Fluoroquinolones, Transvaginal Mesh

 HAMILTON, N.J., March 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The Quinolone Vigilance Foundation (www.saferpills.org) and The Mesh Warrior Foundation (www.tmwfoundation.org) announced today that they have joined forces to raise awareness of the dangers of fluoroquinolones and the transvaginal mesh medical device. Many women who suffered complications after implantation of a transvaginal mesh were prescribed fluoroquinolones and put at further risk for health issues as a result.

A transvaginal mesh (TVM) is a medical device designed to treat women's health problems such as pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Implanted through the vagina, TVM is comparable to a man-made net, acting as a means of support for pelvic muscles that are not functioning properly.

However, several problems have been associated with TVM implantation. They include device erosion through the vagina wall, extreme pain, bleeding, infection, bowel and bladder perforation, incontinence and others.

Infections are particularly commonplace after TVM devices are implanted. In order to combat this issue, patients often receive a type of antibiotic drug known as a fluoroquinolone. Drugs in this classification include the medications Levaquin, Cipro and Avelox.

Fluoroquinolones have been linked to mitochondrial toxicity, a condition that can lead to several serious health issues, including brain disorders, muscle weakness, and others. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, fluoroquinolones can also lead to nerve damage if taken orally or intravenously. Despite the evidence linking these drugs to severe problems, they continue to be prescribed not only to patients suffering from TVM-related complications, but also for relatively routine infections such as urinary tract infections and sinus infections. (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm365050.htm)

“Many patients implanted with transvaginal mesh were not made aware of the device’s severe adverse events and permanent side effects including nerve damage, painful sex, chronic pain, painful scar tissue formation and debilitating injury to voluntary and involuntary muscles. Furthermore, as the mesh erodes through tissues like the urethra, recurrent infection including frequent UTI is common. In my opinion, when a patient is prescribed fluoroquinolones as a first-line defense to combat infection associated with transvaginal mesh, it’s literally adding injury to injury,” said Aaron Leigh Horton, founder and executive director of The Mesh Warrior Foundation. “The goal of our partnership with the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation is to educate doctors and patients alike about the dangers of prescribing fluroquinolones as a first-line defense in treating recurrent UTIs or other common infections in mesh-injured patients. These patients have already suffered a devastating loss of quality of life, and I feel that prescribing another treatment which carries significant risks of further permanent injury, is simply taking too high a risk.”

"We are proud to partner with The Mesh Warrior Foundation in an effort to stop the incredible suffering TVM patients have experienced after being prescribed fluoroquinolones," said Rachel Brummert, President and Executive Director of the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation. "Patients are being unnecessarily harmed, not only by defective medical devices but also by off-label use of powerful medications."

ABOUT THE QUINOLONE VIGILANCE FOUNDATION

The Quinolone Vigilance Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization that fosters, initiates, and funds research on Fluoroquinolone Toxicity. We also advocate for injured and disabled patients who took a fluoroquinolone, and we educate patients and doctors so they can make an informed decision about their health.

ABOUT THE MESH WARRIOR FOUNDATION

The Mesh Warrior Foundation is a collection of volunteers, injured patients and injured family members. We support all those who, male or female, have been harmed by the dangerous medical device called medical polypropylene mesh.

Media Contact: Rachel Brummert, Quinolone Vigilance Foundation, 609-575-9839, rachel@saferpills.org