Shoulder Pain Pump Ends Catering Career

June 13, 2011, 3:30PM. By Jane Mundy

Sanford, FLKaren, a former caterer, hasn't been able to work since 2008 when she had shoulder surgery and was given a shoulder pain pump. "Ever since then I am in constant pain and my doctor said I can't lift anything over three pounds," says Karen.

Not being able to lift or carry anything certainly limits any work opportunities. Karen, age 55, says she was in great shape before she fell while working on the catering truck and ripped her rotator cuff. Now she can't even type on the computer for more than a few minutes—her left hand will lock up and go numb. "If I pick up a cup of coffee with my left hand I'll drop it," she says. "I was a caterer all my life and obviously I can't do it anymore.

"The pain is coming from inside my shoulder and it is swollen, but on the outside my shoulder is numb. You could push a needle into it and I won't feel anything. I used to crochet blankets and I can't even do that now."

Because Karen sustained her injury on the job, her doctor filed a workers' compensation case. Now she is on long-term disability but her insurance won't cover the cost of seeing the orthopedic surgeon who gave Karen the shoulder pain pump, which she used for four days. "I have to pay $350 to see the surgeon and I can't afford that now—I'm barely making ends meet since I haven't been able to work. Even though my primary doctor said the muscles in my arm could be deteriorating, I can't do anything about it; I can never go back to work—I'm done for life. Unfortunately in the state of Florida, the 'Right to Work' state, I can't do anything about getting financial help to see the surgeon."

Before 2000, the FDA received only a small number of chondrolysis cases associated with shoulder pain pumps, possibly because they weren't used in intra-articular administration—the procedure that was used on Karen and many other patients now suffering with Postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL). In recent years, orthopedic surgeons began to insert the shoulder pain pump into the patient's intra-articular space over a period of about 48 hours (Karen had her pain pump for four days!), despite the FDA Alerts and Safety Notice warning back in 2007: "Shoulder pain pumps have not been approved for any infusion devices for the continuous infusion of local anesthetics into intraarticular spaces." Now, the agency requires pain pump manufacturers to warn healthcare providers and patients about the potential for severe joint damage when these devices are used for intra-articular anesthetic administration.

Karen also lost a great deal of weight shortly after shoulder surgery—she thinks it is also related to the shoulder pain pump. She lost 42 lbs and her doctor doesn't know why, even after a battery of tests. "Ever since the surgery I got nauseated before I ate so I was on meds to help with the nausea—it was like being pregnant," explains Karen. "They just took me off them because I started to retain water. I was 85 lbs and now I'm up to 98 lbs (I'm only 5' tall). I was thinking the worst nightmare—cancer—but they never found out what it was. I started to lose weight right after the surgery; it is very coincidental." Karen adds that she was healthy and doing fine right up until the surgery.

"When my gal pal told me about so many problems with the shoulder pain pump, I went online and couldn't believe it," says Karen, exasperated. "Why isn't this product off the market? One woman who goes to our church recently had a shoulder pain pump after her surgery; her arm is still in a cast and she says it feels fine. Maybe it is a different make than mine."

Karen doesn't know what kind of shoulder pain pump she had, but she is going to call the hospital to find out—or an attorney can make that call. There are a number of shoulder pain pump makers, but those companies with the most complaints (i.e., that were improperly administered) are Breg, I-Flow, Donjoy and Stryker.