October 23, 2009 CHARLESTON, SC— In recent weeks and in multiple, public venues coast to coast, The National Association For Continence (NAFC) is calling for stricter healthcare standards for patients with pelvic floor dysfunction, including incontinence and prolapse in women.

On September 21, 2009, Deborah L. Myers, MD, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Brown University Medical School, delivered an oral testimony from NAFC at a public hearing  organized by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) at the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence. ORWH will be holding similar public hearings throughout the country through the end of October 2009, to gather input for future research priorities in women’s health. Referencing the full, NAFC testimony posted online and accessible at [www.orwh.od.nih.gov] Nancy Muller, executive director of NAFC, commented “We have far too much experimentation on women in everyday practice, without evidence or direction of what is best for particular cases. Women often report when contacting NAFC for guidance that they feel bewildered by the options presented to them by their doctors.”

Muller joined NAFC Board Chairman G. Willy Davila, MD, Director of Urogynecology at the Cleveland Clinic Florida, in addressing a gathering of patients on September 25, 2009, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida concerned about the safety of mesh implants.  “We need both additional innovation and clinical research to deliver an improvement in surgical outcomes with the duration that women deserve, while reducing the risks of adverse events,” stated Muller during Truth In Medicine’s first annual conference, assembled for male and female patients to discuss complications from their surgeries involving synthetic mesh implants.  Among the group’s goals is a much improved informed consent process between patient and doctor in which risks and potential benefits can all be openly and fully discussed.  Synthetic surgical mesh has been used to strengthen support for pelvic organs, as treatment in hernia repair, and for stress urinary incontinence. Truth In Medicine played a role in convincing the FDA to issue a public health notification in 2008 to warn the public about adverse events from the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh.

Separately, Muller facilitated a workshop on September 30, 2009 entitled "Patient and Provider Perspectives in Optimizing Outcomes: Reaching Commin Ground" during the recent annual meeting of the International Continence Society (ICS) in San Francisco, calling for global, cross-border harmonizing of of healthcare standards to protect patient dignity and safety in accessing treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction. With members of the World Federation of Incontinent Patients (WFIP) representing patient perspectives in Egypt, Poland, and The Netherlands and obstacles compromising quality of life for millions of patients throughout the world with pelvic floor dysfunction. The WFIP Charter of Patients' Rights is integral to the platform promoted by the strong advocacy voice of the panel. To view the panel's slide presentation, visit [www.wfip.or/index.php?page=presentations].

About the National Institute of Health (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

About the Office of Research in Women’s Health (ORWH)

The Office of Research on Women’s Health is the focal point for women’s health research at the NIH.  Together with the NIH institutes and centers, the ORWH supports a vigorous research agenda in women’s health. Additional information about ORWH is available at http://orwh.od.nih.gov including dates and times of future public hearings.

About Truth in Medicine (TIM)

Truth in Medicine is a patient advocacy organization that educates the public about the potential risks and complications from the implantation of synthetic surgical mesh into the human body. The organization also educates and supports patients who have already been harmed by surgical implantation of synthetic mesh.