You may experience some discomfort around your incisions for a couple of days afterward. You’ll likely be able to go home the same day as your procedure, but you won’t be able to drive yourself. Once connected, your surgeon will make sure they’re working and close the incisions. Your surgeon will make an incision in the area where the generator will be implanted and another for the wires and electrodes. Many surgeons also use sedation to keep you relaxed and to keep you from moving. You’ll be given local anesthesia around the surgical site to block pain. The procedure generally takes less than 2 hours. If your trial is successful, you’ll receive a permanent implant. If the trial is unsuccessful, your surgeon can remove the wires relatively easily. ![]() The trial is considered successful if it removes at least half your pain. Trial periodįor your trial implant, your surgeon will implant one or two wires into your epidural space for about 1 week with a generator outside of your body. The process of receiving a spinal cord stimulator starts with a trial period before receiving a permanent implant. It can truly change the lives of patients living with these debilitating conditions.Spinal cord stimulator implantation procedure While this is an invasive procedure it has proven to be one of the most effective treatments for intractable neuropathic conditions. The small incision sites are closed and the patient is discharged the same day. ![]() A battery is placed, the leads are tunneled under the skin, and the system is connected and proper functioning is tested. The permanent implant is the same as the trial except this time a small pocket is made under the skin, usually over the right or left hip. If you had an excellent result you may be a candidate for permanent implant. The manufacturers representative will be in contact with you for five days after the procedure. It is firmly taped and the procedure is complete. Adjustments are made to the generator and lead position until proper coverage is achieved. The leads are attached and you are asked if you feel the stimulation and if it’s covering the area of your pain. During the trial, an IV is placed and the stimulator leads are advanced under live fluoroscopy to the appropriate level in the spinal cord. Since this is a permanent implant patients must undergo a trial to be sure that this therapy is right for you. You (the pain signal) can’t get on the freeway because of the continual stream of cars passing by (the stimulator signal). Another analogy would be a car trying to enter the freeway in a traffic jam. The patient now feels a tingling sensation instead of pain, and the electrical stimulation is acting to “close the gate” such that pain signals coming from below can’t reach the brain since the stimulator is occupying the pain tract. Low voltage impulses are generated and transmitted superficially in an area of the spinal cord called the dorsal column. Special leads are placed in the epidural space and it is attached to a generator. It works by what is known as the “Gate Theory”.
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