42-year-old French actor wants euthanasia after failed surgery

As reported by Le Monde, 42-year-old actor and director Arnaud Denis has been suffering from unbearable pain since July 2023, when he had an inguinal hernia removed.

This is a fairly common pathology where a part of the intestine protrudes through a weakened spot in the abdominal wall, forming a bulge in the groin area. To strengthen the tissues and reduce the risk of recurrence, surgeons in most cases install a synthetic mesh implant — a prosthesis that is fixed inside the body.

This method has long become a global standard. The French Society of Surgery explains that the main advantage of implants is a lower probability of recurrence. According to the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products, about 200,000 such implants are placed annually in France.

For most patients, this is indeed a routine operation, but some people may experience serious complications. Most often, this involves chronic pain that can severely worsen quality of life, interfere with work and daily activities. According to various studies, this occurs in 0.5—6% of cases. For Arnaud Denis, this percentage turned into a personal catastrophe.

Just ten days after the operation, his condition began to rapidly deteriorate. Severe pain, nausea, tremors, and digestive disorders appeared. Later, hormonal, muscular, and neurological problems were added. In three months, he lost 17 kilograms.

Arnaud started visiting doctors, but for a long time could not get an answer as to what was happening to him. Doctors did not link his symptoms to the operation and the implant, and some even claimed that the problem was «psychological.»

Only a year later, one of the surgeons suggested that the body might be poorly tolerating the implant material and offered to remove the mesh. Not trusting local specialists, the actor flew to the USA, where he paid 40 thousand euros for the operation. However, his condition did not improve after this; it continued to worsen, and the actor was repeatedly hospitalized and underwent treatment.

Despite this, Denis did not immediately fall into complete despair. On the contrary, he tried to make his story public and become a voice for other patients. On Facebook, he created the group «French Victims of Hernia Implants,» where hundreds of people share similar problems. Together, they plan to file a class action lawsuit.

Thanks to their activism, in March 2025, the French Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products strengthened control over such implants, and in June, it held a meeting with doctors and patients.

Before his illness, Arnaud Denis was a successful theater director. For 15 years, he led his own troupe and staged a number of critically acclaimed performances. In 2025, his production of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's play «Les Liaisons dangereuses» (Dangerous Liaisons) received four nominations for the Molière Award.

In an interview with journalists, the 42-year-old man said: «I can't leave my house. I have no social life. I've lost everything that makes a person worthy. And it's getting worse and worse. (…) Doctors have nothing to offer me.»

Arnaud stated that he decided to seek «assistance in dying» in Belgium, where such a procedure is legal. A preliminary meeting is scheduled for the end of January.

• 5
• 0
• 0
• 4
• 15
• 60
• 0
• 0