Pain Pumps and Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis Lawyers
Serving Los Angeles, San Diego, and Southern California
For help with other legal matters please contact Jacoby & Meyers or call 1-888-Jacoby-1 (1-888-522-6291)
Pain Pumps and Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis Lawyers
In late 2007, the American Journal of Sports Medicine indicated that patients who had undergone shoulder arthroscopy were developing a painful condition known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL). The cause of PAGCL was found to be the pain management pumps used in the surgery. The attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers are currently accepting cases of patients who developed PAGCL as the result of using a pain pump.
Arthroscopic surgery requires the creation of two incisions. One is for a tiny camera and the other for a surgical instrument. The surgeon is able to see what must be done on a monitor. Arthroscopic surgery is useful for reduced trauma, pain, and a shorter recovery time. However, there is still a significant amount of pain involved in this type of surgery. While oral pain medication is often administered after the surgery, the addition of a pain pump that contains bupivacaine or lidocaine, and sometimes epinephrine may be part of the recovery. The disposable pump is only used for a couple days and can be removed by the patient when they no longer need it.
The pain pump administers medication directly into the surgery site delivered through a catheter. It is believed that the high concentration of medication directly into the site may be the cause of PAGCL.
The glenohumeral joint is the ball at the end of the arm bone and the socket of the shoulder blade. Cartilage covers the ball of the arm, which allows smooth movement of the joint.
Chondrolysis is a condition in which the cartilage deteriorates. Chondrocytes are cells within the cartilage that do not regenerate. When chondrocytes are gone, the resulting loss of cartilage causes joint stiffness, decrease in the range of motion, and extreme pain when the arm is in motion as well as at rest. Other symptoms of PAGCL include:
- Clicking, grinding, and popping
- Weakness in the shoulder
- Narrowing of the joint space
Causes of PAGCL
It is believed that over 60 percent of patients who used a pain pump after arthroscopic surgery that included bupivacaine or epinephrine may have developed PAGCL. While they are excellent drugs for managing post-surgical pain, the delivery of these narcotics directly into the shoulder joint, rather than into muscle tissue destroys cartilage. Physicians began introducing the catheter to deliver the medication directly into the joint at the suggestion of some of the manufacturers of the pump even though this was never cleared by the Food and Drug Administration. Previous research also showed that bupivacaine applied directly to bovine cartilage destroyed the cartilage cells.
If you have developed PAGCL after shoulder arthroscopic surgery, you may be entitled to compensation. In the Los Angeles, San Diego, and Southern California areas, please contact the experienced product liability attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers for an initial consultation or call us at 1-800-75-LEGAL (1-800-75-53425).
(1-888-522-6291)
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