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Postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, or PAGCL, is a very painful condition that occurs in the shoulder when the cartilage between the humeral head and the glenoid (the ball and socket of your shoulder) has broken down to the point where bone meets bone.

What causes PAGCL?

There are many possible causes of PAGCL, however, the most notable cause is due to the use of a pain pump after someone has had shoulder surgery. Ask anyone whose undergone shoulder surgery and they’ll tell you that it can be very painful – especially in the recovery phase.

Doctors and patients generally have two ways to manage that pain – oral painkillers or a pain pump. While oral painkillers work just as well as a pain pump, their use generally requires a nurse to administer the drugs which takes time. The pain pump is a small device that can be surgically implanted in the shoulder joint so that the painkiller medication can be delivered immediately.

It’s not surprising that, given those two options, many shoulder surgery patients have chosen the latter. However, medical experts have determined that use of the pump may cause permanent damage to the shoulder be eating away at the cartilage (a dense connective tissue that, among other things, allows movement in joints).

Recent studies

American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. According to a 2006 study by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, several shoulder surgery patients who developed PAGCL were studied and the one factor they had in common was that they all used a pain pump after their surgery.

American Journal of Sports Medicine. According to an October 2007 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), Dr. Charles Beck, an orthopedic surgeon and senior author of the study, stated that there is a, “…strong association between the intra-articular (inside the joint space) use of high volume pain pumps following arthroscopic shoulder surgery and an otherwise unexplainable loss of hyaline cartilage in the shoulder joint.”

“The complication, known as PAGCL, is permanent and can lead to extreme pain and lifelong suffering in 63 percent of the patients that use them. The medical records of numerous other patients suggest the complications may occur following open surgery as well.”

Pain pumps continue to be used

Although manufacturers of pain pumps (Stryker, DJO Inc., I-Flow, BREG Inc. and several others) have known about the problem for several years, pain pumps continue to be used. An increasing number of lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers as more shoulder surgery patients that have used the pain pump become injured.

If you’ve been injured, consider contacting an attorney whose practice focuses in this area of the law to discuss your situation confidentially. To contact an attorney, click here.