Patient Regrets Surgery with Shoulder Pain Pump

Tampa, FLIf you're like some patients who had a shoulder pain pump implanted after shoulder surgery, you may regret ever having had the surgery at all. Todd D. certainly does. His minor shoulder injury required surgery, but that shoulder surgery, which involved a pump for pain management, may have created even more problems for Todd.

"I had my first surgery in June 2004," Todd says. "I had a pain pump inserted in my shoulder—it was a Stryker pump—and it had medication in it, but I don't remember what the medication was. The pump was in for about 5 days when it ran out of medicine, but the doctor didn't take the pump out for another 2 days.

"Immediately following that, I started having serious pain issues and the medication I was on wasn't dealing with that pain. I was sent for tests and they found nerve damage inside my shoulder that I didn't have before the surgery.

"I went in for a simple rotator cuff tear and I wound up with what they called cerebral nerve palsy. They put off rehab for quite some time and I was put on heavy nerve narcotics. Then, I was put in physical therapy and treatment, but the doctor couldn't figure out why I couldn't get as much movement as I should have."

Todd's surgery was done in Arizona, however he had to go to Florida to deal with some legal issues. While in Florida, Todd's insurance claim was denied and he was not able to receive treatment.

"Since then, my shoulder deteriorated more and more," Todd says. "The surgeons blame it on other surgeons or on complications. I've got a limited range of motion and my muscle has atrophied. A year ago, I was told I needed a full shoulder replacement but now I've been told I need a reverse replacement because everything has deteriorated so far. There is not much holding my shoulder in right now.

"I haven't worked since this happened in 2004 [Todd is a steel craftsman by trade]. I've had lots of different treatments but I had to stop physical therapy because of the grinding, clicking and pain. It's almost like carrying around a dead arm. I have bursitis pain and tendon pain. I wear a sling a lot because just having the arm hanging is bad news. I have serious issues with my shoulder. It's pretty much deteriorated—but I only started with a slight rotator tear.

"I can't sit or stand for too long and I have problems sleeping. I generally sleep an hour and a half to 2 hours at a time before I have to sit up. I can't walk around very long because I have to relax and get the weight off my shoulder and neck area. The grinding, clicking and popping are bad—people can actually hear those sounds. Sometimes, the shoulder locks up in place. Other times it's like it's coming out of the socket. If I lie down the wrong way, the shoulder pokes out.

"It has had a big effect on my day to day life. There are things I want to do every day, but I can't because I will pay for them if I do, with a lot of pain. I'm very active, but I've learned to limit myself. I had some serious spots of depression because of this. Luckily, I have plenty of friends and family to help deal with this.

"I wish I hadn't done it [the shoulder surgery] now. I was in a lot less pain before it—I could have dealt with that pain. I wish I was more careful and tried other things before doing the surgery. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies. I've been paying for it since 2004. It's not good."