Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Characteristics of chondrolysis associated with intra-articular pain pumps after shoulder surgery was among the topics at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons/ the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The discussion included Drs. Peter Thomas Scheffel, Jeremiah Clinton, Joseph Lynch, Winston J. Warme, and Frederick A. Matsen III, and was moderated by Drs. Carl J. Basamania and Guido Marra. The message centered on the need for surgeons and patients to be aware of chondrolysis as a potential complication of the infusion of local anesthetic after shoulder arthroscopy.

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Jean-Thenistor Pascal, the Haitian-Quebecker professional boxer and current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder this week and will be unable to train or fight for about nine weeks. The boxer hurt his shoulder while successfully defending his title against Adrian Diaconu last week.

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Five lawsuits against manufacturers of pain pumps and pharmaceutical companies on behalf of 28 people were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this month, alleging fraud, breach of warranty and products liability, saying the makers of the products continued to market the pain pumps as mitigation for shoulder joints despite the specific use of those products not being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The lawsuits also allege that the pain pump devices caused a painful and debilitating condition known as postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL), in which the cartilage in the shoulder joint wears away causing bone to rub against bone.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning orthopedic and anesthesia health care providers and hospital risk managers not to continuously infuse local anesthetics directly into the intra-articular joint space because this use of anesthetics has led to a painful and debilitating condition known as chondrolysis, or the decaying and destruction of the cartilage.

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In light of a recent report released by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration that confirms the link between chondrolysis and pain pump use, Joseph A. Carrese, MD, MPH, an expert in bioethics, has issued an opinion stating that physicians have a responsiblity to inform former patients on whom they used the device of the possible risk.

It is Dr. Carrese’s opinion that “to do otherwise would be a failure of expected ethical and professional conduct, and in turn a failure of good clinical practice.”

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Things were looking promising for Florida State University quarterback Christian Ponder, until last Saturday, when he separated his right shoulder making a tackle after throwing his fourth interception against Clemson. He now faces surgery to repair a Grade 3 AC separation, which will bench him for the rest of the season.

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Oklahoma Sooner star quarterback and 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford announced he will leave the team prematurely to undergo shoulder surgery before pursuing a career with the National Football League. The shoulder repair surgery requires a four- to six-month rehabilitation, leaving him unable to play.

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Jim Smith could barely move his right arm following a motorcycle accident. A traditional shoulder replacement surgery left him in pain and unable to even do small household chores. “I was down to practically doing nothing,” Smith said to WNDU-TV. “I couldn’t even trim bushes in the yard because I didn’t have control of my right arm.”

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Attorneys with Beasley Allen Law Firm and attorneys with partnering firms have filed three separate lawsuits alleging that pain pump devices implanted in the shoulder during and after surgery to repair shoulder injuries were unreasonably and dangerously defective beyond the extent contemplated by ordinary patients.

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Lawsuits against the manufacturers of shoulder pain pump devices have been filed in state and federal courts across the nation, and some have already been scheduled for trial beginning in 2010. What juries may be surprised to hear is how a device commonly used between 1999 and 2007 to relieve pain following shoulder surgery, has months later resulted in an irreversible, painful and debilitating condition known as chondrolysis.

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