gms | German Medical Science

Objective: Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) for chronic neuropathic pain has become a standard treatment option in many pain clinics over the years, however, it is recognized that some anatomical pain distributions do not always respond well to SCS. A recently approved alternative to traditional SCS is spinal cord stimulation of the Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG). We present our results from 15 patients suffering from groin pain of various ethiologies treated with the Axium Neurostimulator System.

Method: We treated15 patients suffering with groin pain from; prior herniorraphy (9), prior femoral vascular access (2), Pfannenstiel procedure (1), abdominal nerve entrapment syndrome (1) and unspecified peripheral nerve damage (2). Patients underwent a trial of the therapy where the specifically designed leads were implanted at the target DRG’s (T12, L1, L2, L3 and/or L4). Patients who had a successful trial with a CT scanned block of the DRG underwent further surgery to receive the fully implantable neurostimulator and the leads. Patients reported pain scores on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at baseline and at regular follow up visits at every 3 month.

Results: 15 patients received the fully implantable INS (78%). The average follow-up period for these patients was 6 month and average pain reduction was 81%. 80% of patients experienced a >50% reduction in their pain.

Conclusions: These early findings suggest that SCS of the DRG may be an effective treatment for chronic neuropathic pain conditions of the groin. As such SCS of the DRG offers a useful alternative to traditional SCS for conditions such as these reported that do not always respond optimally to traditional SCS.