Occipital nerve stimulator systems: review of complications and surgical techniques

Stimulation of the occipital nerves is becoming more widely accepted in the treatment of occipital neuritis and migraine disorders.

Presently, equipment available for spinal cord stimulation is adapted for insertion into the subcutaneous space over the occipital nerves. Many technical factors need to be reassessed to optimize the therapy.

We performed a retrospective review of patients implanted from 2003 to 2007 at a single center. We aimed to analyze the rate of surgical complications related to implantation technique. A total of 28 patients were present for analysis. Patients were followed up to 60 months with a mean follow-up of 21 months.

There is a 32% revision rate for electrode migration or displacement, 3.6% removal rate for infection, and a 21% removal rate for lack of efficacy. Although not well studied secondary to small patient populations, this was consistent with a review of the literature which demonstrated a 10-60% revision rate. Other factors such as anchoring strategy, strain relief, and battery location were all considered in the analysis and will be presented. A major determination was that use of a second incision with an additional strain relief loop had only a 10% revision rate of the lead while those without this additional strain relief loop had a 62.5% revision rate.

Many technical factors need to be addressed for optimization of occipital nerve stimulation.