“We certainly knew that it was a possibility. We went through the rehab process in a very methodical way to give us the best chance to get him back on the mound, and it didn’t work,” executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told USA Today. ”But in the meantime, we strengthened up the shoulder through the rehab process, which we feel like will aid in the recovery. And by all indications, (the surgery) went really well.” Howell is expected to recover in time to play during the 2011 season.

For some, however, shoulder surgery can exacerbate the injury. In the late 1990s, surgeons were told by the manufacturers of pain pumps that the devices could be used effectively in place of oral or IV painkillers. This reduced hospital stays and was to speed up the recovery process. However, doctors began seeing patients who underwent shoulder surgery but then developed a painful and debilitating condition known as chondrolysis in which the cartilage in the shoulder wears away causing bone to rub against bone.

It didn’t take long for doctors to realize that it was the pain pumps that were causing the chondrolysis. What was even more shocking is that the use of pain pumps in the manner in which pain pump manufacturers were telling doctors to do was never approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last year, the FDA issued a notice to health care providers informing them that the pain pumps should not be used in shoulder surgery and that the use has never been approved.

SOURCE: Pain Pumps › Tampa Bay Rays’ Howell undergoes season-ending shoulder surgery

Shoulder injuries are not uncommon among athletes. Hard and repetitive throwing motions like those needed for football and baseball leave many players with shoulder problems, many of which require surgery. While a full recovery is usually possible, some patients’ injuries were worsened by shoulder surgery.

The phenomenon even confused doctors who performed the shoulder repair surgeries. They were finding a growing number of patients months or years after surgery were back in their offices complaining of pain, stiffness and loss of motion. Upon further inspection, doctors found those patients had developed a condition known as chondrolysis, caused by the breakdown of cartilage. As the cartilage wears away, bone begins to rub against bone causing even more pain and damage.

What doctors finally deduced was that it wasn’t the surgery that was causing this specific type of chondrolysis known as postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL), but the pain pump used during and after surgery. The pain pumps are devices that have a balloon filled with pain-deadening medication. That medication is fed directly into the wound site through a catheter for up to 72 hours.

The pumps were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the catheter placed in the shoulder tissue. But pain pump manufacturers began telling doctors to place the catheters in the shoulder joint, which allowed the joint space to be bathed in medication. What doctors didn’t realize is that constant drip of medication into the shoulder joint was slowly eating away at the cartilage, resulting in chondrolysis.

Since this discovery, published in a recent issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, patients who have suffered serious disability from the wrongful use of pain pumps have sued the manufacturers of pain pumps. If you are experiencing the symptoms associated with chondrolysis or PAGCL, you too may have a claim against the manufacturer.

Source: St. Petersburg Times

SOURCE: Pain Pumps › FSU quarterback faces shoulder repair surgery