Lead extrusion ten months after spinal cord stimulator implantation: a case report

The purpose of this case report is to describe an occurrence of a rare complication of lead extrusion, which was observed 10 months after spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implantation.

A patient with low back pain and failed back surgery syndrome underwent implantation of a SCS without complications. Ten months after implantation, one SCS lead extruded from her lower back leading to surgical removal of the leads.

After identifying the complication of a SCS lead extruding from the patient's back, a surgical revision was performed to remove the SCS leads but retain the implantable pulse generator (IPG) in the gluteal region. During the surgery, it was noted that the anchors were in the appropriate position, sutured and fibrosed to a deep fascial layer. There were no complications from the surgical revision and no infectious process was observed.

We report the occurrence and management of a rare complication of SCS lead extrusion after SCS implantation for failed back surgery syndrome. After recognition, removal of the leads with retention of the IPG was able to effectively resolve the complication. The revising procedure was well tolerated but resulted in the recurrence of the patient's previous low back pain. We believe that knowledge of this case and its management will aid future physicians in the recognition and management of this rare complication of SCS implantation. Furthermore, as there is a paucity of literature discussing the management of lead extrusion after SCS implantation, we hope that this case report will spur additional research on the management of this complication.