Millennium Research Group’s New Physician Forum Report Provides Details of Physician Attitudes and Choices

December 22, 2011—Toronto—According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, while some physicians report decreased confidence in urogynecologic surgical mesh products, as well as increasing patient concerns as a result of rising incidence of reported adverse events, a safety notification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommendations from the FDA’s advisory committee to change the approval process for these products, market growth will rebound in 2012, based on results from a recent survey of United States physicians.

Survey results indicate that procedure volumes remained flat in 2011, due in large part to shaken confidence and increased patient concern. But moving into 2012, the number of transvaginal pelvic floor repair (PFR) procedures and sacral colpopexy/hysteropexy procedures using either a synthetic mesh or a biologic graft will increase by 2 percent. Some companies and mesh brands have been substantially more successful than others at building physician loyalty despite the recent adverse events and proposed regulatory changes. While little differentiation seems to exist between brands of biologic meshes, physicians do demonstrate strong brand preferences among synthetic meshes, basing their choice on specific factors that include mesh material or weight, patient profiles and training programs offered by synthetic mesh providers.

The results come from a new MRG report, Urogynecologic Surgical Mesh: Controversies in Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment, part of its Physician Forum series. Physician Forum reports are produced in response to specific market events and trends that are expected to have significant effects on the utilization and sales of medical devices. This report was published in December 2011.

The results are based on surveys that were conducted in November and December 2011 and included 181 respondents, of which 130 were current users of synthetic surgical mesh in urogynecologic treatments and 51 were synthetic surgical mesh nonusers. Survey respondents were gynecologists, urologists and urogynecologists in the United States.

“Despite the recent controversy, and the fact that a large portion of physicians have reported increased patient concern about the safety and efficacy of urogynecologic surgical mesh and related procedures, many survey respondents find that surgical mesh products have distinct benefits in treating pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence,” said MRG Analyst Sohaib Perwaiz. “As a result, manufacturers who understand physicians’ practice patterns and product choices, as well as how attitudes differ across specialties, levels of experience and training backgrounds, can optimize their product offerings and marketing efforts to better position themselves in this market as regulatory, physician and public perceptions continue to evolve.”

Millennium Research Group’s Urogynecologic Surgical Mesh: Controversies in Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment report provides information about current and future clinical applications for synthetic and biologic surgical meshes, as well as suburethral slings, and physician perceptions of the various surgical mesh and graft brands.