Pain Pump Injury Symptoms

Medical science is able to accomplish a great deal in terms of relieving pain, fixing medical conditions, and improving overall health. Surgery still often is necessary, however, since technology and techniques in medicine have not developed yet to the point of being completely non-invasive. Pain pumps sometimes are used to assist patients after surgery, but these pumps can result in injury with characteristic symptoms if not used properly.

What Is a Pain Pump?

• Pain pumps are devices that are designed to provide pain medication to a patient who has undergone surgery or who has a medical condition requiring pain management via medications. A catheter attached to the pump is inserted into the area of the body on which doctors have operated, thereby delivering pain medication directly to the surgery site where it is needed most. Although pain pumps can be used for different types of surgery or conditions (e.g., pregnancy and labor pain), injuries are most common with shoulder surgery.

Why Do Injuries Happen?

• Pain pumps require the insertion of a catheter in order to deliver the pain medication. The pumps are designed to be placed into body tissue, but the FDA has not approved the placement of the catheter into joints, which sometimes happens after shoulder surgery. If this is done, the medications used in certain pumps (bupivacaine and epinephrine) may cause cartilage in the joint to deteriorate. Manufacturers of the pain pumps failed to communicate this danger, and as a result, at least 100 lawsuits have been filed against at least a half-dozen pain pump manufacturers across the United States. Negligence or pump failure is responsible for the majority of injuries.

Symptoms

• Safety mechanisms are installed on pain pumps as a matter of standard so that patients cannot overdose on the medication as the pump administers it. Sometimes these mechanisms fail or medical personnel program the pump incorrectly and overdoses occur, which can result in minor symptoms such as headache or symptoms as serious as renal failure, depending on the overdose level and the medication given.

  For shoulder injuries (Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis [PAGCL]), symptoms typically include pain, decreased strength and range of motion, a grinding sensation or popping in the joint, and stiffness in the shoulder. The severity of symptoms depends on how badly the cartilage has been damaged by the medications.

Treatment

• Overdoses caused by pain pump malfunction or negligence can leave damage that is untreatable and irreversible (depending on the medication and dosage), although many medications are available to stop the effects of the primary pain medication administered so that injury does not progress further.

  There is no known effective treatment for PAGCL because damaged cartilage cannot heal itself, although a heating pad and over-the-counter or prescription medications may provide some temporary relief from pain.

Considerations

• If you are experiencing symptoms of pain pump injury, you should notify your doctor immediately to confirm the injury. If the pain pump was used or programmed incorrectly, then you may be entitled to compensation through a lawsuit. There are numerous law firms nationwide that specialize in consumer injury, including pain pump injuries.