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Updated: May 26, 2026
Treating Low Back Pain in Failed Back Surgery Patients with Multicolumn-lead Spinal Cord Stimulation
Published on: June 26, 2018
A new technique of "midline anchoring" in spinal cord stimulation dramatically reduces lead migration
Y Eugene Mironer1, Christopher Brown, John R Satterthwaite
1Carolinas Center for Advanced Management of Pain, Asheville, North Carolina-Greenville, South Carolina, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Medtronic, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract:
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a popular method of treatment of chronic pain. Unfortunately, migration of the lead continues to be a serious complication of this therapy. In an attempt to reduce lateral migration of the SCS lead, we performed a retrospective assessment of a new technique of percutaneous lead placement. This new method of "midline anchoring" of the lead using the plica mediana dorsalis was tested against conventional technique in a retrospective study involving 122 trials and 91 implants of SCS over a period of five years. The use of "midline anchoring" resulted in a decrease in lead migration from 23% to 6% after trial insertion and from 24% to 7% after implantation. We conclude that "midline anchoring" of the SCS lead is an effective method of preventing lead migration.
