Intra-articular pain pump catheters devices that are temporarily implanted in the shoulder during surgery and have been linked to a serious injury know as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL). This is an extremely painful condition involving the deterioration of cartilage in the shoulder joint. Symptoms of PAGCL include very limited mobility, weakness in the affected shoulder and arm and pain in the shoulder. Popping, clicking and grinding in the shoulder are also symptoms of PAGCL.
For years, surgeons have used the intra-articular pain pump for managing pain. Because these flexible plastic catheters deliver pain medication directly to the joint, and they can extend the effectiveness of other shoulder numbing agents for up to 48 hours.
However,a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that these pumps were associated with PAGCL. This association was greatest when the intra-articular pain pumps were used to deliver a combination of the painkillers bupivacaine and epinephrine directly into the shoulder joint space.
In spite of this knowledge, the manufacturers of these pumps have persisted in recommending that physicians deploy the pumps to inject medicine directly into the joint space.