Senior doctors call for public inquiry into use of vaginal mesh surgery in UK

Experts draw comparisons with the thalidomide scandal as they reveal that traumatic complications are more common than official figures suggest

Senior doctors have called for a public inquiry into the use of vaginal mesh surgery amid mounting concerns that a significant proportion of patients have been left with traumatic complications.

Speaking at a meeting in parliament, Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford, drew comparisons with the thalidomide scandal, saying that there was evidence that mesh procedures, used to treat complications from childbirth, carry significantly more risk than official figures suggest.