Shouldering the Weight: Pain Pump Stories That Will Break Your Heart

Washington, DCThe frustration associated with a shoulder pain pump injury, is that a seemingly routine outpatient procedure can turn into such a devastating, long-term issue characterized by chronic pain and loss of mobility. True, there is risk with every surgery—but shoulder surgery to repair a shoulder injury is considered fairly routine by today's standards.

It's what happens after the surgery that is serving as the wrecking ball for a life. Patients are reporting debilitating pain and loss of mobility inherent with the use of a pain pump that injects common drugs directly into the shoulder joint, to speed relief.

What has been discovered too late, it seems, is that pain drugs which carry little, or no adverse effect when applied to muscle or other areas of the body, behaves differently when exposed to the precious, and irreplaceable cartilage that is nestled in the shoulder joint. Many patients have been finding, to their doctor's dismay, that the anesthesia and other pain meds—when exposed to the cartilage—fosters a breakdown of cartilage, causing a condition known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL)

The breakdown, and subsequent disappearance of this cartilage provides the foundation for what could be years of pain and frustration that confound the normal expectations inherent with a routine outpatient procedure. Suddenly, patients who were fitted with a shoulder pain pump will have to endure further surgery—perhaps several—and most will require complete shoulder replacement.

All this, because shoulder pain pump manufacturers allegedly failed to properly instruct doctors, and the medical community at large that the safety, and efficacy of the shoulder pain pump had yet to be established.

Lawsuits have been filed, and the expectation is that there will be more. And little wonder, given the hardship that patients are going through. And when you examine the stories of the patients below, pay particular attention to their ages.

Travis is 26. He's a strapping fellow from Dayton, Oregon who was looking forward to taking over the family poultry farm. But it looks like he can't know. Travis suffered a shoulder injury while playing football in high school, and was assigned a shoulder pain pump in tandem with corrective shoulder surgery to repair the shoulder injury.

But that looks like it's no longer going to happen, as Travis cannot manage to put in a full days' work. His father, who will retire soon, has had no choice but to hire someone else more physically sound for the work. Travis says the whole thing breaks his heart. He feels like he's letting his father down.

Then there's the story of Kate, a physical therapist from Raleigh, North Carolina. She used to derive tremendous satisfaction from helping others in need of rehab, she says. But now, Kate is the one who needs the help, and she doesn't know where that help is going to come from. No one really does, because no one really understands why this happens. Just that it does, and when it does it can be devastating.

Kate can no longer do the job she loves, she says, as she no longer has the physical strength and stamina needed to serve her clients. Thus, she has had to give up a promising career at the ripe old age of 28.

Jessica used to be a competitive softball player, but she's in too much pain now. The use of a shoulder pain pump has robbed the 18-year-old of not only her capacity to play softball, but she laments the loss of a close relationship she once had with her father. Dad coached the team. But now she can't play, she is in constant pain, and her relationship with her daddy has suffered because of it.

Kathy is a bit older at 62, and she can still work, but she's concerned. She remains her family's sole source of income. As it is, she used to adore ballroom dancing. Still does. But she can't do it any more. After a shoulder pain pump was prescribed as part of rotator cuff surgery, Kathy can no longer dance.

A recent study published by The American Journal of Sports Medicine identified intra-articular pain pumps as the likely cause of Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis. PAGCL occurs when the cartilage located within the shoulder joint begins to deteriorate. There is no consistently successful treatment, and PAGCL often results in permanent shoulder pain and loss of mobility. While it has been reported that PAGCL is a common complication following shoulder surgery, it only occurs in patients who received a shoulder pain pump filled with bupivacaine and epinephrine during their surgery. Studies suggest that up to 63% of arthroscopic shoulder surgery patients who receive a post-operative pain pump may develop PAGCL.

The alleged oversight on the part of a shoulder pain pump manufacturer to properly test, or establish the safety and efficacy of a procedure before it is put into widespread use, suggests that a ball was dropped somewhere, and due diligence was missed. But such an error in judgment, or procedure appears to pale in comparison to a lifetime of chronic pain and suffering faced by relatively young persons, having done nothing wrong other than seeking treatment for a shoulder injury. They should be rewarded with healing, not with a lifetime of chronic pain and loss of mobility that can affect careers, lives and livelihoods.

Medical bills aside, someone has to be held accountable. And a qualified shoulder pain pump attorney can guide you through that first step.