#DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR COMPLICATIONS SKIN#

Hardware complications, the more common issues that can occur, rarely indicate a serious risk and can generally be remedied through reoperation. While many complications can arise following percutaneous spinal cord stimulator implantation, the procedure is less invasive than open implantation and has seen largely positive patient feedback.

#DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR COMPLICATIONS SKIN#

Though the occurrence of infection and biological complications, including dural puncture and skin erosion, has been less frequent over time, they should still be treated in accordance with established protocols. Intraoperative neuromonitoring has seen success in mitigating neurological injury postoperatively and may see more usage in the future through more testing. However, recent findings may suggest that these rechargeable implantable pulse generators do not significantly increase battery life as much as was proposed. With newer high-frequency systems gaining traction to improve pain management and decrease complications as compared to traditional systems, rechargeable implantable pulse generators have been the preferred power source. Lead migration is generally the most common complication of percutaneous spinal cord stimulation however, recent utilization of various anchoring techniques has been discussed and experienced clinical success in decreasing the prevalence of lead migration and lead fractures. The purpose of this article is to thoroughly review and evaluate literature pertaining to the complications associated with percutaneous spinal cord stimulation. However, even with the numerous changes made to this technology since its inception, it is still prone to various complications such as hardware issues, neurological injury/epidural hematoma, infections, and other biological concerns. Spinal cord stimulation has been increasing in influence as an option to regulate pain, especially in the chronic pain patient population.

Dorsal column stimulator complications