Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Treating Low Back Pain in Failed Back Surgery Patients with Multicolumn-lead Spinal Cord Stimulation
Published on: June 26, 2018
Modified and systematically-designed installation procedure for spinal cord stimulation in the decubitus position
Sumihisa Orita1, Yasuhiro Shiga1, Kazuki Fujimoto1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University Chiba, Japan.
Introduction:
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is sometimes preferable in some refractory chronic lower back pain (LBP) pathologies. SCS involves an insertion of electrode leads into the epidural space in the prone position under local anesthesia, followed by neurostimulator implantation under local/general anesthesia. These continuous procedures can cause transient post-operative LBP exacerbation and to make temporary pockets that will store redundant leads in it with some risk of subcutaneous irritation and infection in addition to making extra incisions. We introduce a modified simpler method for SCS implantation, systematically designed to be performed only under local anesthesia in a decubitus, non-prone position.
Materials And Methods:
An 81-year-old patient with FBSS was treated. A physician was able to insert SCS leads with ease while the patient was in a decubitus position. The patient was comfortable, under totally local anesthesia, and the procedure produced no extra subcutaneous pockets.
Result:
The patient felt almost no LBP and reported no pain exacerbation during the operation. The SCS installation provided the patient with great improvement in both her lower back (NRS from 8 to 0-1) and leg (from 7 to 2) pain with a great improvement in her daily life activities. No adverse events were observed during the perioperative period.
Conclusion:
The modified SCS insertion method enabled us to achieve both intraoperative pain relief and complete SCS implantation in a minimally invasive manner.
