Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant

When you're experiencing the painful symptoms of chronic and neurological pain disorders, you're sacrificing more than your comfort. You're giving up the ability to live a fulfilling life by doing the activities you love. An experienced, certified back specialist like Dr. Amr Hosny, MD, MBA can help you to eliminate your pain with over two dozen pain management treatments, both surgical and non-surgical. Let NJPCC improve your quality of life so you can get back to doing what you love the most: living your life to the fullest!

Chronic lower back pain is a significant health concern is all age groups, and a number of treatment methods are available to alleviate it. Non-surgical treatments, like lumbar epidural steroid injections, can provide temporary relief by blocking pain signals, and For some individuals, however, these traditional methods are futile; the pain persists or worsens, and the patient requires additional treatment. Chronic back pain sufferers can use spinal cord stimulation therapy (SCS) to interrupt pain signals traveling from the spinal nerves to the brain. Electrical impulses are generated by an implantable pulse generator (IPG), treating neuropathic pain.

There are two steps to implementing a spinal cord stimulation therapy regimen: the trial period, which assesses effectiveness of the treatment, and the permanent implantation procedure.

Trial Procedure

During the initial trial procedure, the patient remains conscious. A local anesthetic is applied to the incision site, and a temporary electrode lead is inserted into the spinal cavity either through an epidural needle or through a small incision. Once the lead is dwelling in the epidural space, weak impulses are sent to stimulate the nerve and disrupt the pain signal. Patient feedback is used to properly guide the lead to the irritated area, maximizing the effectiveness of the electrode stimulation.

Once the positioning is correct, the lead is attached to an external stimulator to be controlled by the patient. The patient uses this external pulse generator to disrupt pain signals as they occur; the process continues for approximately a week, assessing whether the treatment will in fact be effective at minimizing or eliminating the chronic back pain. If the patient does indeed experience alleviation of symptoms, the permanent installation procedure is the next step.

Permanent Implantation

The permanent implantation of the spinal cord stimulator is a bit more invasive than the trial procedure; for this reason, the patient is under full sedation or general anesthesia. Either an epidural needle or a small incision is used for insertion of the permanent lead or leads. The location of the electrode leads is determined based on the results of the trial period. A second small incision is made adjacent to the insertion incision, typically in the buttock or abdominal region. This will be the location for the permanent IPG device. The electrode lead is then attached to the IPG device battery, and the IPG device is slid under the skin through the small incision. The incisions are closed and the procedure is complete.

The recovery process involves mild discomfort and swelling, resulting from agitation at the incision sites and the sub-dermal insertion of the IPG device. A few days after the procedure, this irritation should be completely alleviated.

The spinal cord stimulation system is programmed by the patient with an external control device. From this device, he or she can control the strength of the pulses delivered, switch between pre-set programs of pulse generation, and turn the system on or off. The patient therefore manages his or her own chronic back pain in real time, blocking the pain signals being delivered from the spinal cord to the brain as they occur.