"Just Say NO to Shoulder Pain Pump"

Fairfield, Ohio"Hopefully someone about to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery will read my story and tell their doctor not to insert a shoulder pain pump after their operation," says Kevin. "If I had known the damage it caused, I would have said NO to a shoulder pain pump.

"Nobody explained it to me; I woke up after surgery and found the shoulder pain pump in my arm," Kevin adds. "I just became aware of this device and the irreparable damage it causes [postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, known as PAGCL] after seeing coverage on TV. 'WOW,' I said, that describes me exactly. Then I saw a YouTube video about young athletes who can never play the sport they used to play. They had the same symptoms as me: limited range of motion, constant pain all the time, and popping and clicking sounds."

In July 2007, Kevin was rear-ended in a car accident that left him disabled. The accident caused brain damage and a shoulder injury. Consequently Kevin is on full disability—and now he has to suffer even more pain, perhaps for the rest of his life.

"I had my neck fused in January 2008 and met with the shoulder surgeon a few months after that," says Kevin. "He recommended physical therapy for my shoulder but it didn't help so I had the arthroscopic shoulder surgery in May of 2008. I had the pain pump inserted in my arm for about three days and after that I had my arm in a sling, then I went through eight weeks of post-surgery therapy. But my shoulder was never the same again.

"To be honest, my shoulder felt better before the surgery. After the pain pump was removed, my range of motion was worse than ever. Now I always hear a popping and cracking noise and it hurts all the time. I went back to my surgeon but he didn't do anything about it. All that physical therapy before and after surgery did nothing.

"Why didn't someone tell me about the dangerous shoulder pain pump side effects? I found out that physicians knew the pain pumps caused PAGCL after a study was published in 2006. It makes you wonder whether these doctors are getting kickbacks from the shoulder pain pump makers! How can this device still be on the market?

"It's disgusting that the shoulder pain pump manufacturers—who are profiteering crooks in my book—are destroying people's lives just to make a buck. Now there's a chance that I will need another surgery—it's like bone on bone. I don't know what they can do for me if my cartilage is destroyed; I don't want another surgery but I might have to.

"Besides being in constant pain, I can't lift anything above my head; I have to keep my hair really short because I can't even comb it—this shoulder pain pump has affected my whole life.

"I just wish there was some way to get this pain pump off the market so nobody else has to go through it again—perhaps it will take many lawsuits."