Has a Pain Pump Changed Your Life?
“I had shoulder surgery after a football injury. To help with the post-operative pain, my surgeon inserted a pain pump into my shoulder joint. He took it out after two days. Now, six months after the surgery I have a constant sharp pain in my shoulder. I can’t lift anything or even move my shoulder. Sleeping is difficult. Now the doctor is telling me I have deteriorating cartilage due to PAGCL. It looks like I will need shoulder replacement surgery eventually. I hear that the pain pump caused PAGCL. Is this true? What can I do? Can you help?”
Hundreds of people who underwent shoulder surgery (or possibly knee) are now facing a lifetime of shoulder pain and disabilities due to the negligence of pain pump manufacturers. How did this happen?
During the past decade, orthopedic surgeons were encouraged to use pain pumps to inject and control a dosage of narcotics and anesthetics to the joint space in the shoulder before and after surgery. The pain pump was designed to relieve the pain and discomfort associated with the shoulder surgery.
Instead, for many patients, the pain pump caused permanent pain and damage to the shoulder’s cartilage. This disorder, called postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL), has been traced to the use of pain pumps, which when inserted in the shoulder joint, bathed the cartilage with powerful narcotics.
Although pain pumps are used primarily with shoulder injuries, in some cases they were also used with knee surgery with similar injuries.
PAGCL is a digressive condition associated with the deterioration of the cartilage in the shoulder. Common PAGCL symptoms and damage include:
- Continual pain from the shoulder joint (even when the shoulder is at rest)
- Sharp pain when moving the shoulder
- Continual shoulder stiffness or other loss of movement
- Grinding or clicking of the joint when moving the shoulder
Many patients experiencing PAGCL were young adults and athletes who had shoulder surgery following sports-related injuries. These people now face a lifetime of pain and shoulder problems, even shoulder replacement surgery. Because of the PAGCL, they will be forced to give up many activities and hobbies they once enjoyed.
If you or a loved one has had a pain pump installed following shoulder surgery and has been diagnosed with PAGCL, contact the PAGCL attorneys at Gregory & Swapp to learn how we can help you recover financially from the permanent side effects of this dangerous product. Please contact our PAGCL lawyers immediately by calling toll free at 1-800-404-9000 or by submitting details of your case on-line.
Because we accept your case on a contingency basis, there is no legal fee unless we recover money for you.