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I-Flow Inc., a medical technology firm with headquarters in Lake Forest California, is one of many firms that manufacture pain pumps – which are infusion devices that deliver controlled amounts of local anesthetics to patients in order to manage their pain after having surgery. Recent studies have linked pain pumps used after shoulder surgery to PAGCL (Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis) – a very painful condition that can become permanent and inflict a lifetime of suffering without undergoing further surgery.

A closer look at I-Flow’s pain pump

I-Flow markets the ON-Q PainBuster pain pump. According to the company’s website (www.iflo.com), the device:

• Provides continuous infusion of a local anesthetic directly into the patient’s surgical site for effective, non-narcotic post-operative pain relief for up to 5 days
• Gets patients on their feet faster
• Reduces patient need for narcotics and decreases potential of breakthrough pain
• Is simple yet elegant and requires little to no management or intervention by the patient or caregiver
• Is completely portable and can be carried in a pouch or attached to a patients’ clothing

I-Flow’s website contains FAQs and a technical bulletin regarding Chondrolysis which can be accessed at:

• www.iflo.com/pdf/products/1302966E.pdf (FAQs)
• www.iflo.com/pdfs/1303722e.pdf (Technical bulletin)

The company’s phone number is 1-800-448-3569.

PAGCL: Defined

A recent study published in the October 2007 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine linked pain pumps to PAGCL, a painful condition caused by the deterioration of cartilage (a dense connective tissue that, among other things, allows movement in joints) around the shoulder area. Symptoms of PAGCL include:

• Decreased range of motion
• A narrowing of the joint space in the shoulder area
• Shoulder pain whether in motion or at rest
• Shoulder stiffness or weakness
• Clicking, popping or grinding of the shoulder

PAGCL can be permanent unless further surgery is performed to reconstruct the shoulder. This arthroscopic surgery would generally replace the damaged shoulder joint with metal and plastic parts. Although the Food and Drug Administration has not recalled any pain pumps, many lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers and legal analysts predict that others are likely to follow.

If you have developed PAGCL after using a pain pump, contact a qualified attorney whose practice focuses on pain pump issues. To contact a lawyer for a free, no obligation consultation, please click here.