Comments on: Pain pump malfunction saves officer’s right shoulder

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:44:26 +0000

Type your comment here.Hi i have had two surgeries on my shoulder.
after the first i had nothing but dramas a lot of pain going down to the outside of my bicep surgeon said every is good. anyway too cut down a long story.i checked out these pain pumps only because i was in alot more pain for the two days that it was in my shoulder it seemed like alot of presure going in. i could not move after the second operation i had a pain pump and no dramas at all its been 8months since then.
i still get pain down my arm and severe pain in shoulder i have no strength can lift my arm up with a pulley it cracks clicks and is numb down to my bicep i had a mri and exray not long ago things look ok now iam looking back to the first surgery to see what damage this pump did to my shoulder it must of damaged my nerves and god knows what. and this is in australia done with a stryker pump with naropin

By: BeasleyAllen

BeasleyAllen — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:10:37 +0000

Hello “Aussie Pain Pump Rep”,

Thank you so much for your post on this topic. The information you
provided about the pain pump use is very interesting! I really
appreciate your sharing your experience and knowledge with our readers.
We hope this site will provide exactly this type of information, to help
prevent future unnecessary injuries.

We appreciate your taking the time to post here!

Sincerely,

Wendi L. Lewis
Communications Director
Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

By: Aussie Pain Pump Rep

Aussie Pain Pump Rep — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:39:23 +0000

Pain pumps are extremely effective when used properly. I am a pain pump rep in Australia and we have never had any problems. This can be largely attributed to several factors which the surgeons in Australia do differently to US surgeons.

Firstly, we only ever fill the pumps with pure Marcaine or pure Naropin. Secondly, the catheter is NEVER positioned inside the joint capsule where the medication can come into direct contact with the articular cartilage. Thirdly, we only ever use low flow rates below 4mL/hr to avoid incisional leakage and remove the catheters at no later than 50hrs post-operatively to reduce any infection risk.

From what I hear and have been told, shoulder surgeons in the US have for a long time always positioned the catheter inside the joint capsule and added other medications into the pumps such as anti-clotting agents and anti-inflammatories. Who knows what effect these concoctions have on cartilage, they were never specified for use inside joints.

I am sorry for your pain. I wish I was in the operating the theatre the first time a pump got used on you. I would have never let the surgeon use it the way he did.

By: BOBBIE

BOBBIE — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:58:43 +0000

I have had 22 shoulder surg in 23 yrs due to a auto acd I am a surg nurse and now 2 artificial joint surg , all of these i had this pump with no relieve & a lot of malfucations & I was told to keep quite & it will be changed I now am on the way to have #23 surg following yet an other bad surg after an auto accd 2 yrs ago where I was hit on the same side from before. I am in so much pain and nothing helps the doc says I have nothing left to wk with in the shoulder jt & all areas all of it has been destroyed, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!