Vaginal surgical mesh: Report a problem or concern

On this page

• Consumers
• Health care providers

Consumers

You can report any problems or adverse effects you have with vaginal surgical mesh to:

• Health Canada
• the manufacturer
• your health care provider

To report to Health Canada:

• call toll-free at 1-800-267-9675
• fill out the report a medical device problem form

If you have questions for Health Canada about the licensing of surgical mesh, please:

• email: meddevices-instrumentsmed@hc-sc.gc.ca
• phone: 613-957-7285

We review all reports on medical devices. We assess the information provided and contact people who report incidents to gather more information, as needed.

We encourage consumers to report problems involving medical devices, including the sale of unauthorized devices.

When reporting to Health Canada about your vaginal surgical mesh, report any information you may have, even if you’re unsure of all the specific details needed. However, if available, it is helpful to include the following information in your report:

• the type of vaginal surgical mesh used
• the surgical approach used (if known)
• the date of surgery
• the date that symptoms appeared
• any pre-existing medical conditions
• if the device was removed, when and details about whether your symptoms resolved after the device was removed
• whether your doctor confirmed that mesh was a factor in your illness

You can also subscribe to Health Canada's updates on vaginal surgical mesh. By subscribing to this service, you will receive timely and relevant up-to-date information on vaginal surgical mesh, including:

• general information
• safety or recall information
• risk communications
• updates to our website pages

Subscribe to get vaginal surgical mesh updates

Health care providers

We provide many sources of information on medical device safety and risks, including:

• MedEffect Canada, where we post the results of our safety reviews
• MedEffect e-Notice, where you can subscribe to receive health product safety alerts automatically
• recalls and safety alerts, where:
  • we post medical device recalls
  • you can subscribe to receive information on safety risks associated with medical devices
• medical device incidents database (refer to the disclaimer for the limitations of the database)
• general information on medical devices and our related action plan
• summaries of decisions, where we provide health care providers with background information that could be relevant in treating their patients