Pain pumps were developed approximately twenty years ago, as a way to manage post operative shoulder surgery pain. Originally they were placed in the muscle, or outside the shoulder joint. However, with the encouragement of pain pump manufacturers, surgeons began to insert them directly into the shoulder joint.
When pain pumps are placed directly into the shoulder joint they can cause serious and permanent damage to the cartilage inside the joint. This happens because the anesthetic used in the pain pumps kills the chondrocytes (shoulder cartilage cells).
As the shoulder cells begin to die patients develop a condition known as chondrolysis which is the nearly complete loss of cartilage in the shoulder joint. It is irreversible, disabling and extremely painful. Patients suffering from chondrolysis usually undergo additional surgeries, and often must have complete shoulder joint replacements.
The companies behind the pain pumps did not do a single study to determine whether or not it was harmful to place the device directly into the shoulder joint. The pain pump manufacturers sought approval from the FDA to place the device directly in the shoulder and were rejected – not once, but three times! Despite this they did not advise physicians about the dangers and did not tell them that their FDA applications were rejected, recklessly endangering their patients.
The following video shows what one of these pumps looks like. Would you want one of these in your shoulder joint?
Have you or anyone you know suffered as a result of a pain pump? Please contact us or leave a comment below.