Spinal Cord Implant
About 350,000 Americans will undergo spine surgery for the treatment of low back pain and leg pain. Despite surgery, up to 15% of patients will continue to have unresolved pain. Now, see how these patients may soon be able to get some relief.
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BACK PAIN CAN BE DEBILITATING AND RELENTLESS FOR MANY PATIENTS.
Carol Thompson
Back Pain Patient
"It would get to the point where sitting for a long period of time was painful."
Gerald Dolan
Back Pain Patient
"I was walking crooked and I had pains down both legs and everything else."
DOCTOR HOWARD LEVY SAYS BACK PAIN THAT PERSISTS EVEN AFTER MULTIPLE SURGERIES CAN LEAVE PATIENTS DESPERATE FOR HELP.
Howard Levy, M.D.
Spine Specialist
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
"Patients that I see are patients that have had surgery and have persistent pain, and we're trying to come up with some reason, some solution to help them with the pain."
THAT SOLUTION MAY BE SPINAL CORD STIMULATION.
YOUR BODY FEELS PAIN THROUGH MESSAGES SENT TO THE BRAIN. IN SPINAL CORD STIMULATION, A DEVICE IS IMPLANTED INTO THE LOWER BACK AND WIRES ARE RUN INTO THE SPINAL CANAL. IT BLOCKS PAIN SIGNALS FROM REACHING THE BRAIN USING ELECTRICAL STIMULATION.
Howard Levy, M.D.
"The spinal cord stimulator can be placed and the patient can be back on his feet in several days without the long recovery that's required from back surgery."
PATIENTS CAN TURN THE DEVICE ON OR OFF WITH THE TOUCH OF A MAGNET.
GERALD DOLAN HAD THE DEVICE IMPLANTED AFTER FIVE BACK SURGERIES FAILED TO RESOLVE HIS PAIN.
Gerald Dolan
"I'd probably be in a wheelchair, but with this, I have a life right now that I can do almost anything I want."
DOCTOR LEVY SAYS THAT'S THE REACTION FROM MANY OF HIS PATIENTS.
Howard Levy, M.D.
"If it works, it's wonderful thing for patients to tell you that their pain feels better."
DOCTOR LEVY SAYS THERE IS LESS RECOVERY TIME AND LESS PAIN INVOLVED WITH THIS DEVICE WHEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL BACK SURGERIES.
BACKGROUND: According to researchers from the Emory Spine Center in Atlanta, there are about 350,000 lumbar spine surgeries performed in the United States each year. Up to 15 percent of patients who undergo these back surgeries will have persistent symptoms of pain. Often referred to as Failed Back Surgery Syndrome, or FBSS, doctors have had few options to offer these patients for pain relief. Howard Levy, M.D., a spine specialist from Emory University, says, "When patients have back surgery, the expectation is that the surgery is going to help them with the pain. Some patients don't get helped with the surgery." Even after multiple surgeries, Dr. Levy says many patients are still left with unresolved pain.
SPINAL CORD STIMULATION: A new procedure may help unresolved back pain. Spinal cord stimulation works by blocking pain signals from reaching the brain by using electrical stimulation. A device is implanted into the lower back and wires are run into the spinal canal. Patients can turn the device on or off with the touch of a magnet. Dr. Levy says there is less recovery time and less pain involved with this device as compared to traditional back surgeries.
SIDE EFFECTS: Because spinal cord stimulation systems are surgically placed, infections are possible. Potential complications may include undesirable changes in stimulation, lead migration and loss of pain-relieving effects in some patients. Since spine surgery involves the nervous system, nerve damage is another risk. Both spinal cord stimulation and re-operation are standard medical procedures used to treat chronic pain.
THE STUDY: Participants must have had previous back surgery more than a year prior to enrollment, failure of alternative treatment measures such as medical or physical therapies, disabling pain that has limited their social and vocational activities, and must be age 20 or older. Here is a list of the 9 study sites:
- Hospital for Joint Disease, New York
- University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City
- SUNY Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse
- Nebraska Spine Center, Omaha
- Emory Spine Center, Atlanta
- Texas Back Institute, Plano
- Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes Med. Ctr., Chicago
- Swedish Medical Center, Seattle
- Washington University Medical Ctr., St. Louis
George Rainey
Emory Spine Center
2165 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 778-7262
george_rainey@emoryhealthcare.org
Copyright © 2002 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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