Spinal Cord Stimulation

Electrical neuroaugmentation of the spinal cord involves percutaneously placing an electrode into the epidural space and stimulating the dorsal columns with a high frequency, low amplitude signal to block pain.  The procedure involves an initial trial, followed by permanent implantation of a pacemaker-size generator, which is adjusted via a remote, hand-held controller.  Spinal cord stimulation has been found to be useful for intractable pain due to reflex sympathetic dystrophy, arachnoiditis, failed back syndrome, radiculopathy, peripheral vascular disease, phantom limb pain, and deafferentiation pain