Swimming reduces pain

A Manawatu¯ woman, who experiences debilitating pain from surgical mesh, completed a 3.3-kilometre race in Wellington Harbour.

Glenys Mahoney struggles to walk, work and or even sit for prolonged periods because she’s been battling against vaginal surgical mesh for 11 years.

But swimming helps reduce the pain and increase movement in her legs, which barley used to move.

In 2006, Mahoney had surgery for a pelvic organ prolapse. She’s had 12 operations to attempt to correct it, but there’s still mesh in her body that might never be removed.

In mid-2017, two mesh slings were successfully removed, but she has ongoing physio to deal with the last sling in her body.

On Sunday, she took part in the Interislander Capital Classic Ocean Swim, hitting the finish line in one hour and five minutes.

‘‘I was a bit nervous, but once I started swimming it was fine.

‘‘It was challenge, but it means that I can do something.’’

The hardest part of the race was getting from the ocean to the finish point on land, she said. While most people ran to the finish line, Mahoney struggled to walk.

‘‘I just find it easier in the water than on land.’’

Swimming reduces pain and swelling in her leg, so she swims daily.

Mahoney can have another operation in an attempt to remove the remaining mesh, but she would risk not being able to walk at all. ‘‘Because of the nerves involved, it’s going to be very awkward surgery.’’

The risk of not being able to walk again wasn’t worth it, she said.

In December, Mahoney’s surgeon, gynaecologist Dr Hanifa Koya, said in many cases, patients had already had several previous surgeries, which left them with a lot of scarring and made the surgeries high risk.

Surgical mesh used for some gynaecological procedures was removed from New Zealand’s supply on January 4, but Mahoney said more needed to be done, such as setting up a registry to monitor how many people were affected.

In New Zealand, ACC has paid out $13 million for 810 claims about injuries because of surgical mesh in the 12 years to June 2017.