Hickman catheter removal pain

  My husband had a hickman catheter removed in early July. It was a
  rough removal and a different surgeon removed it than put it in. He had
  a lot of trouble getting it out and my husband was in a lot of pain.
  Since then my husband has been in horrible pain. The pain starts in
  the area of the removal, but radiates up over the shoulder and into
  the neck. His internist says that the removal must have bothered some
  nerves in the area. None of our physicians seem to have ever seen this
  before. It also caused a nerve to his diaphram to be paralyzed
  so his lung partial collapses while breathing. They have him on MS Contin
  (3 tablets every six hours, plus some kind of muscle relaxer and four
  ibiprofen every four hours) and he is still miserable. Do you have any
  idea how long this will take to heal? Is there any other drug that might
  give him some relief?
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Dear Dawn,
The Hickman catheter may have damaged a cutaneous nerve upon removal,
causing the pain your husband now feels.  This should resolve.  The phrenic
nerve damage is unusual.  You should speak to the physician that placed
the Hickman to see whether there was any problems with the insertion.  
If the terrible pain persists, sometimes medicine such as Tegretol can
help.  Speak to you husband's physician in this regard.
Good luck.