Deep brain stimulation for alleviating chronic intractable pain

The authors present their 4-year experience with 18 patients who had deep brain stimulation. Most were referred because of chronic pain of varied etiology. All conventional modalities of management had failed. Both the paraventricular gray matter and the sensory thalamus were target sites. The 18 patients underwent a total of 21 implants. Follow-up ranged from 6 months to 4 years with moderate relief of prestimulation pain in 14 patients (77%). Patients with failed back syndrome secondary to multiple disc operations fared well. Patients with pain secondary to progressive neurologic disorders or cancer had only short-lived benefits, while those with pain from cauda equina injury or vascular disease had a poor result. Deep brain stimulation appears to be an effective means of controlling chronic pain in selected cases.