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

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying health care professionals of reports of a serious and destructive cartilage condition known as chondrolysis in patients who have had shoulder surgery during which they received continuously infused local anesthetics to deaden pain. The anesthetics were delivered via pain pumps, balloon-like devices that hold medication outside the body and have a catheter that delivers pain medication directly into the shoulder joint for up to 72 hours following surgery.

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Dr. David S. Bailie, an orthopedic surgeon in Scottsdale, Ariz., says he’s lost hours of sleep over a rare joint condition he started seeing far too often in his patients who had had arthroscopic shoulder surgery. “There’s nothing worse than a surgeon doing something that causes a problem, not fixes a problem,” he told the New York Times.

Since 2005, Dr. Bailie says he has seen dozens of patients come to him months after surgery with worsening pain and limited mobility. The diagnosis was chondrolysis, a condition in which the cartilage in the shoulder joint wears away leaving bone to rub against bone. There is no cure for chondrolysis and in some cases, total shoulder replacement is required.

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Whitney Moore was in prime physical condition just a few years ago. She played junior varsity soccer at West Virginia University before opening a strength and conditioning business for young athletes. In 2004, she injured her shoulder playing soccer and had surgery to repair it. But the surgery only made her shoulder worse. Moore developed a once-rare condition known as chondrolysis, in which the cartilage in the joint wears away causing bone to rub against bone.

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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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Deciding to have rotator cuff surgery can be trying decision. On one hand, it can relieve pain and increase mobility in the shoulder. But shoulder surgery can carry risks, some that may worsen the condition and may require more surgery. Before choosing to go under the knife, consider your options, says the e-zine Revolution Health.

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The shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion of all our joints and allows us to use our arms for various tasks, from throwing pitches to supporting our bodies. When the shoulder is injured, surgery may be required to relieve pain and restore mobility. However, some individuals have found that surgery on their shoulder has made their condition worse.

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One of the three principal shoulder pain pump manufacturers facing lawsuits over serious injuries associated with the use of the pain pumps is no stranger to controversy. It was also engaged in an illegal scheme for which it was prosecuted for paying hundreds of thousands – and possibly millions – of dollars to physicians for using its hip and knee replacement products exclusively.

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Four complaints have been filed in federal court in Philadelphia against Stryker Corp., maker of medical devices including postoperative pain pumps, for causing serious arthritis. The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based company is accused of actively concealing or misrepresenting information about the safety and efficacy of its pain pumps.

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For a long time, physicians didn’t know why patients who had shoulder surgery began suffering from a painful condition known as chondrolysis, in which the patient loses the cartilage in the shoulder. “This goes all the way back to about the year 2000. People who had surgery seven or eight years ago who thought they would recover are now seeing that they have lost their cartilage and they don’t know why,” says Frank Woodson, shareholder with Beasley Allen Law Firm. “However, now that the literature is expanding and more and more doctors are finding out about this and they’re telling patients to contact attorneys to get advice on what recourse they may have.”

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