Some women from Oklahoma have sued California-based medical supply company Mentor Corp., claiming the company’s device to treat urinary stress incontinence is defective and caused them serious injuries.

The women filed three lawsuits on Feb. 29 in Payne County District Court, alleging the ObTape Vaginal Sling caused chronic pain, infections, and erosion of vaginal tissues, among other problems. The Mentor Corp., based in Santa Barbara, has not commented on the suits.

“It felt like someone had pulled my legs apart and just stretched them,” one claimant said at a news conference. “I was finally relieved to know what caused it; you keep wondering what was wrong with you.”

And for some women, simply realizing they had the device was a surprise.

“We have found many women do not know they have this product inside their bodies,” one lawyer said.

Source: The Associated Press, “Oklahoma women file lawsuits against medical device maker Mentor,” March 18, 2008. (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23695109/for/cnbc/print/1/displaymode/1098/)