Fullerton, CAJeff has no doubt that the shoulder pain pump he woke up with after shoulder surgery is a direct result of Postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis or PAGCL: prior to arthroscopic surgery he had an MRI that showed rotator cuff tears in his tendons—no cartilage thinning or irregularities. Post-surgery, however, a CAT Scan revealed cartilage damage.
Due to overuse, Jeff, 53, had to stop working as a painter in 2009. He eventually had surgery a year later (after waiting for Workers’ Compensation approval), fully intending to return to work. Thanks to the shoulder pain pump, Jeff has been disabled ever since and now collects social security disability benefits.
"About four months after surgery, my shoulder was popping and cracking more than ever," says Jeff. "It would pop out of the socket and back in again on its own, it was a lot weaker and I had way less range of motion." So Jeff went back to his orthopedic surgeon and had the CAT Scan.
"I was shocked that the scan showed cartilage damage where it did not before surgery," Jeff adds, "but my surgeon just chalked it up to age. I tried to discuss the possibility of PAGCL—by this time I knew about the shoulder pump side effects. I wish I'd known this pain pump could destroy cartilage before surgery.
"But he didn't want to discuss it—because of the way he acted, he was likely thinking of a medical malpractice lawsuit; If he did everything right, he would have discussed the possibility. Instead, we discussed a future shoulder replacement and that's as far as I got with my surgeon. However, I qualify for Medicare as of December 1, 2011, so at that time I can get this further checked out, and if I get a diagnosis of PAGCL, my lawsuit is no doubt stronger, but at the same time I'm also facing a statute of limitations…
"From what I've researched, the FDA has come up with areas where the pump is safe to inject, but not into the shoulder joint. Of course I'm furious that my doctors aren't even considering or acknowledging that the shoulder pain pump caused the destruction of my cartilage. And I am very frustrated; as time goes on it is getting a lot worse.
"But the shoulder pain pump manufacturers are ultimately at fault: They told the doctors it was OK to inject this pain medication directly into the shoulder joint. Why aren't there any long-term clinical trials? From what I have researched, there are just a few: one trial comprised about 500 people and that was only short-term."
Pain pump manufactures, such as Stryker (below) asked the FDA to approve the medical device for inter-articular placement, but the agency turned them down. This decision didn't stop the makers to assure the medical community that shoulder pain pumps were safe to use for placement in the joint space.
Shoulder Pain Pump Lawsuit Update
A federal court in Oregon recently denied Stryker Corporation's (a giant medical device manufacturer) request to dismiss a product liability lawsuit from a patient who suffered glenohumeral chondrolysis following arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder in 2004.
According to Outpatient Surgery Magazine, the patient, Eric Shoenborn, filed suit in 2008, accusing the company of marketing pain pumps despite knowing the risk of delivering anesthetics into the joint space, and failing to warn physicians that the FDA had not cleared the devices for such use.
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