Spinal Cord Stimulation for the Treatment of Intractable Pain from Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Introduction: Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a debilitating chronic neuropathic pain condition, affecting approximately 10–40% of patients after lumbosacral spine surgery. Treatment of FBSS is challenging as conservative therapies and repeat surgery often fail in providing adequate pain reli...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Koravee Pasutharnchat MD, Kok-Yuen Ho MBBS, MMed (Anaes), FIPP, DAAPM
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2010-09-01
Series:Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581001900304
Description
Summary:Introduction: Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a debilitating chronic neuropathic pain condition, affecting approximately 10–40% of patients after lumbosacral spine surgery. Treatment of FBSS is challenging as conservative therapies and repeat surgery often fail in providing adequate pain relief. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been proven to be a successful therapeutic option in FBSS patients. Case Report: A 23 year-old male presented with persistent low back pain and bilateral radicular pain after spinal surgery. He was also wheelchair-bound because of his severe pain. Conservative treatment with oral analgesics and interventional pain procedures were unsuccessful in improving his pain. Subsequently, we performed a permanent implantation of epidural leads for SCS after a successful trial of SCS. He reported good coverage of pain without complications after the procedure. Three months after surgery, and after intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation, he could walk and return to work. Conclusion: We describe our first successful case of treating intractable pain from FBSS in a patient after implantation of SCS leads in our institution.
ISSN:2010-1058
2059-2329