Spinal Cord Stimulators

Spinal cord stimulators have been around for several decades now. They are implantable devices that we are able to place on the top of the spinal cord, just in the area known as the epidural space. We do this in the safety of an operating room, under anesthesia, and utilizing x-ray guidance to determine the exact level at which the leads need to be placed. Two leads will be placed typically in a trial. Once the leads have been placed in proper position, we are able to wake the patient up, and with the help of the technician or a representative from the companies that we utilize, we are able to test in the operating room exactly the coverage that these spinal cord stimulators can provide. The patients are then sent home for a one week trial period where they will control and test the different modalities that we have programmed in their computer to cover their pain symptoms. If they have a successful one week trial, we are then able to implant a permanent device under the skin that they can utilize permanently to control their pain symptoms.