Shoulder Pain Pump

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Shoulder Pain Pump Injuries & Associated Symptoms

Use of pain-control infusion devices to deliver medication directly into the shoulder joint after arthroscopic surgery is becoming more controversial. Patients using the pump have complained of experiencing more rather than less pain after the minimally invasive surgical procedure and the cartilage in the joint has been deteriorating.

Arthroscopy is a surgical procedure less invasive than surgically opening up a joint. The word is derived from two Greek words: arthro (joint) and skopein (look into). Orthopedic surgeons use arthroscopy to see into a joint, diagnose problems and treat them.

Shoulder Pain Pump and PAGCL

Some doctors and their patients are finding that instead of experiencing pain relief following surgery and the use of the shoulder pain pump, they are suffering just the opposite. Patients have reported an increase in pain as the weeks go by. X-rays, reportedly, reveal destruction of the cartilage that prevents friction between the bones and facilitates movement.

This condition has been named postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL), which means death and degradation of the shoulder cartilage following arthroscopic surgery. The condition can cause life-long disability.

Symptoms of chondrolysis in the shoulder, which on average is diagnosed about eight months following the procedure, are:

Extreme joint pain whether or not the shoulder is moving
Stiffness
Loss of motion
Weakness
A narrowing of the space between the bones in the shoulder as the cartilage deteriorates
Crepitus or a clicking and grinding or popping sound in the joint

Patients suffering from PAGCL often require more surgery, including another arthroscopic procedure or arthroplasty (replacement of the joint). The infusion device delivers anesthetics directly into the joint. These anesthetics, used either with or without epinephrine, include

bupivacaine
chlorprocaine
lidocaine
mepivacaine
procaine
ropivacaine

The device is called an electrometric infusion pump. It delivers the anesthetic continuously for 48 to 72 hours. A small balloon is filled with the medication and slowly deflates as the substance flows into the joint.

Before the use of the pain pump, anesthetics were delivered with a single injection into the tissue surrounding the shoulder joint or into the joint itself, but were not delivered by infusion on a continuous basis. Problems with the shoulder pain pump began after the pump was used to deliver the anesthetics continuously into the joint.

Researchers studying the problem don’t yet know the source of the complications. Some say it may be the drugs themselves, materials used in the device, a combination of both, or other factors.

If you believe that you’ve been harmed by a pain pump, contact our shoulder pain pump lawyers today. We may be able to help you recover compensation for your injuries and loss.

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...

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