Shoulder Pain Pump

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Shoulder Surgery and Pain Management

Shoulder surgery has been associated with extreme pain. There are different methods to help patients manage the pain following surgery. One method is delivering pain medications directly to the affected area via shoulder pain pumps.

Shoulder Pain Caused by Pain Pumps

Shoulder pain pumps worn outside the body, with a catheter (pencil-thin, flexible tube) carrying an anesthetic into the joint, have been used to reduce severe pain after arthroscopic surgery.

While the pump does a good job of delivering the anesthetic right to the source of the pain and avoids the need for the patient to get systemic narcotics, a very serious shoulder pain pump side-effect has been linked to the device. Doctors and patients have found that these shoulder joints are losing cartilage. Shoulder cartilage is being degraded and is dying when this anesthetic method is used.

The anesthetic in this procedure is usually infused into the shoulder joint over a period of 48 to 72 hours. Speculation is that the cartilage breakdown may be due to any of the following factors:

The length of time the cartilage in the joint is exposed to the anesthetic
The anesthetics that are used
Something in the material of the pump or its method of delivery
The use of epinephrine along with the anesthetic in some patients

Severe Shoulder Pain

Following shoulder surgery, patients feel severe pain. But, the pain experienced from the use of the pump may be equally, if not more, severe. Cartilage in the shoulder joint acts as a cushion that facilitates movement and keeps the bones in the joint from grinding together. When the cartilage disintegrates, the space between the bones narrows, and they rub together, causing extreme pain as well as destruction of part of the bone. This condition is called PAGCL, short for Postarthroscopic (after arthroscopic surgery) Glenohumeral (shoulder joint) Chondrolysis (cartilage destruction and death).

Shoulder and Arm Pain

The head of the upper bone of the arm, or the humerus, extends into the shoulder joint. As the cartilage disintegrates and dies, the space in the joint narrows and with movement this bone grinds against the scapula, or shoulder blade, causing extreme pain in the humerus.

Shoulder Joint and Muscle Pain

The shoulder is both the most mobile and the most often dislocated joint in the body. When the shoulder dislocates, the ball of the humerus moves out of the dish-shaped cup of the shoulder blade. The dislocation causes pain and muscle spasms of the shoulder blade increase the pain. The spasm, or muscle cramp, can be extremely painful.

Shoulder Pain Pump Relief

Shoulder pain pumps relieve shoulder pain by delivering a continuous drip or slight stream of anesthetic to the source of the pain in the shoulder joint. The anesthesia travels to the interior of the joint over a period of 48 to 72 hours, providing pain relief. But, complications associated with using the pain pump have lead to more pain. Doctors and patients are finding that when shoulder joints are treated with pain pumps, they are at an increased risk of developing the extremely painful shoulder pain pump-caused condition, PAGCL, in the shoulder joint.

PAGCL results when the cartilage in the shoulder joint disintegrates and dies, allowing the joint bones to grate against each other.

For more information or to discuss an injury, contact our shoulder pain pump lawyers today.

Product Liability Breaking News

"Shoulder Pain Pump Does More Harm Than Good"

According to recent reports, patients who had surgery for dislocated shoulders are saying the product they used to control the pain caused more harm than good.

Many patients have reported that in trying to ease their pain us...

» Read More

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