Shoulder Pain Pump Alert
Shoulder Pain Pumps and PAGCL
Every year, thousands of U.S. patients undergo shoulder surgery to repair torn rotator cuffs and other shoulder problems. Unfortunately, many of those patients are now developing an even more serious health problem -- a debilitating shoulder condition that causes severe pain and leaves bone grinding against bone.
The condition, known as postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, or PAGCL, has been linked to post-surgical use of pain pumps. Common symptoms of PAGCL include the destruction of shoulder cartilage, followed by loss of motion of the shoulder in the months following arthroscopic surgery. Treatment is extremely expensive -- and there is no guarantee that PAGCL victims will ever regain full use of their shoulder joint.
If you have been diagnosed with PAGCL, or if you have recently had shoulder surgery and are now experiencing grinding, popping, stiffness, pain or loss of motion in your shoulder, you should seek immediate medical attention. You should also consult a legal professional to determine if you have been injured by a pain pump.
Immediately contact the experienced West Palm Beach, Florida personal injury attorneys of Gordon & Doner to help recover the costs of these potentially lifelong injuries. Our skilled lawyers have years of experience with medical malpractice law, among many other practice areas, and have won millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients.
The use of shoulder pain pumps, called intra-articular pain pump catheters, began in the 1990s. The pumps were highly effective at delivering medication to the affected joint, relieving pain and aiding in the healing process. Originally, doctors inserted the pain pump catheter either in the shoulder muscle or outside of the shoulder joint. However, victims of PAGCL allege manufacturers eventually encouraged surgeons to put the catheters right into the shoulder joint space -- even though that specific use was never approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
That improper use, PAGCL sufferers allege, destroyed crucial cartilage that served as a cushion for the joint -- leading to painful bone-on-bone contact. Scientific studies have confirmed a link between pain pump use and PAGCL. In July 2007 the American Journal of Sports Medicine reported on a study that found the devices were "highly associated" with the permanent destruction of shoulder cartilage.
The study found the greatest likelihood of injury came with the delivery of high doses of the pain medicines bupivacaine and epinephrine, and the authors called for doctors to stop using them. "Intra-articular pain pump catheters, especially those eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine, should be avoided until further investigation," the study's authors concluded.
Follow-up exams of patients who have shoulder problems after surgery often find severe or complete cartilage loss. In fact, as many as six of every 10 arthroscopic shoulder surgery patients who used a post-operative pain pump may develop PAGCL. Victims face the prospect of extensive additional surgeries and treatments to address what they describe as excruciating pain.
PAGCL sufferers have begun to take vital steps to hold the pain pump companies responsible for the harm they've caused. They have filed legal actions against the makers of the pumps and the drug companies that produced the anesthetics used in them.
If you've had shoulder surgery and believe you've been harmed by the use of a pain pump, you need to take immediate steps to protect your legal rights. Contact our attorneys at 1-800-659-1159, or through our web site for a free, no-obligation, and confidential consultation so that we may assess your case.
The West Palm Beach firm of Gordon & Doner has more than 20 years of highly successful experience in personal injury law. The firm's eight attorneys have the experience needed to provide quality legal services to members of its South Florida communities.
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