gms | German Medical Science

71. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC)
9. Joint Meeting mit der Japanischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC) e. V.

21.06. - 24.06.2020

Article

Send article

Wireless spinal cord stimulation technology for the treatment of neuropathic pain – a single-centre experience

Drahtlose Spinal Cord-Stimulation zur Behandlung von neuropathischen Schmerzen – eine Single-Center Erfahrung

Meeting Abstract

Search Medline for

  • presenting/speaker Mohammad Mehdi Hajiabadi - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Benito Campos - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Christiane Geist - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Anästhesie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Andreas W. Unterberg - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland
  • Rezvan Ahmadi - Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Neurochirurgie, Heidelberg, Deutschland

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. 71. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC), 9. Joint Meeting mit der Japanischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. sine loco [digital], 21.-24.06.2020. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. DocP106

doi: 10.3205/20dgnc392, urn:nbn:de:0183-20dgnc3923

Published: June 26, 2020

© 2020 Hajiabadi et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

Text

Objective: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an effective method to treat therapy-resistant neuropathic pain. A new wireless SCS technology, which was introduced in recent years, promises minimal invasive SCS as well as additional advantages such as a wide range of stimulation paradigms and 3-Tesla MRI compatibility. Here, we report on our single-center experience with this new wireless SCS technology and focus our report on handling of the device as well as on potential advantages and disadvantages of wireless SCS compared to conventional SCS.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 12 patients suffering from therapy-resistant neuropathic pain, who were implanted with a wireless Stimwave® SCS system from 2017 to 2019. Potential issues related to handling and usability of the SCS device were evaluated from a patients’ as well as from a surgeon’s perspective. Any surgical complications were recorded. To evaluate treatment response, we assessed changes in pain ratings according to a visual analogue scale (VAS) after SCS.

Results: Mean follow-up was 228 d (95% CI, 20 d – 518 d). After an average test period of 52 d (95% CI, 11 d – 104 d), n=9/12 patients (75%) had reached pain relief greater than 50% with an average pain relief of 69.5 % (95% CI, 50.0 % – 85.0 %). On average, patients tested 2.2 different stimulation paradigms, with frequencies ranging from 60 Hz to 10kHz but there was no preferred stimulation paradigm. There were no surgical complications and no reported incidents with the 3-Tesla MRI-compatibility. N= 3/12 patients reported discomfort from wearing the SCS antenna and one patient complained about a short battery life of the controller device. Other than that, we did not record any handling issues nor did we record any relevant local discomfort associated with the implanted SCS device. Hardware complications were seen in one patient, who suffered an epidural electrode displacement.

Conclusion: Minimally invasive implantation of wireless Stimwave® SCS systems was feasible. The device offered a broader range of stimulation paradigms compared to conventional SCS devices, an allowed for a prolonged testing phase and continuous adjustment of SCS programs.