Total Shoulder Replacement Surgery and Pain Pump Side Effects

There are lawsuits that are currently pending involving pain management pumps used after shoulder surgery across the nation.  These lawsuits are alleging that there is a link between pain pump use and shoulder cartilage deterioration.  Many people who have suffered from the use of these pumps are having a difficult time determining where the problems started.  These cases can come from a wide variety of places, social security disability claims, workers compensation claims, even motor vehicle accident claims.  Many victims are having a hard time pinpointing the cause of their shoulder injury.

For purposes of illustration, consider the following hypothetical.  John Doe is involved in a car accident.  As a result of the impact, he injures his shoulder.  After seeing a shoulder specialist, it is determined that he has sustained a torn rotator cuff, and will need arthroscopic surgery.  John has never had surgery before so he asks his doctor a lot of important questions.  The doctor explains that arthroscopic surgery is a relatively safe procedure, and it is minimally invasive.  The  surgical team makes a small incision in the skin, and inserts a small lens to help illuminate the structures of John’s shoulder joint.  A television camera displays the shoulder joint allowing the surgical team to repair the problem.  Because the joint does not have to be opened up, the procedure should carry less risk.  It should also be less painful, and John should have a quick recovery time.

John starts weighing the pros and cons of having the procedure and is leaning towards having the surgery.  But he is concerned about pain and how much time he will have to miss from work.  The surgeon explains that an intra-articular pain pump will be implanted into his shoulder that will deliver pain medication directly to the site.  This pain pump only needs to be used for a few days, and John can have it removed when the pump is no longer needed.  This is good news because John won’t have to rely on potentially addictive pain killers.  John should be back to his old self in no time.

John decides to go ahead and have the procedure and get on with his life.  Several months after the surgery, he finds that he is having a lot of difficulty moving his shoulder and that it is making a nasty popping sound.  He figures that it is not a big deal, that his shoulder just needs more time to heal.  As the pain continues, John starts to worry and goes in for a check up with doctor.  The doctor takes some x-rays of his shoulder, and finds out that some of John’s shoulder cartilage has deteriorated.  John’s doctor cannot explain why this has happened.  He gives John the bad news that he is probably going to need a total shoulder replacement.  John doesn’t understand.  The car accident he was involved in wasn’t that big of a deal.  His doctor told him that the arthroscopic surgery wasn’t a big deal either.  How in the world can he now need a total shoulder replacement surgery?  How much is this going to cost him?  How much work is he going to miss out?  Will he ever be back to normal?  Who’s going to pay for all of this?

Unfortunately, stories like the hypothetical one described above are not that uncommon.  A company called Cardinal Health has issued a recall for pain management pumps used after shoulder surgery (the Alaris Infusion Pump model 8100.)  These devices were used to deliver pain medication to the shoulder.  The recall applies to devices shipped before September 27, 2007, and it applies to over 200,000 devices around the world.  The FDA classified the action as a Class 1 Recall. 

If you or a loved one received a pain pump that delivered medicine after shoulder surgery and have had trouble with cartilage loss or deterioration in the shoulder, you may have a lawsuit against the manufacturer.   A well respected medical journal has identified a link between the use of intra articular shoulder pain pumps and a condition known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondolysis, or PAGCL.  Click on the link at the end of this article for a free no obligation consultation.

These cases are taken on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no legal fees for you unless you make a recovery.  It is important for you to contact an attorney as soon as possible because you may run into time limits issues (called statute of limitations) that can affect your ability to make a claim.