Article Text

Download PDFPDF
EP002 Enhancing quality of life – spinal cord stimulation in failed back surgery syndrome: a case series of 20 patients
  1. Evmorfia Stavropoulou,
  2. Fani Alevrogianni,
  3. Eirini Fakinou,
  4. Konstantina Goutsou,
  5. Maria Mavrommati,
  6. Fotios Kokkinakos and
  7. Aggeliki Maria Saridaki
  1. General Hospital of Athens KAT, Athens, Greece

Abstract

Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted: Not relevant

Background and Aims Despite advancements in drug and surgical treatments, chronic back pain following failed back surgery remains a significant challenge. Some patients endure persistent pain unresponsive to conventional therapies, resulting in medication tolerance and surgical risks. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has emerged as a non-pharmacological innovative option to regulate pain signals in this specific population.

Methods We present a case series of 20 patients, with intractable chronic pain, after extensive treatments, including physiotherapy and multiple surgeries. They experienced severe pain, significantly impacting their quality of life. Duration of treatment application was documented, its effect on pain intensity was measured by the VAS scale (0-10), and the DN4 questionnaire. To assess its impact on quality of life, we administered the SF12 questionnaire before the intervention and six months later, alongside any alterations in their medication regimen.

Results The results demonstrated a >45% in VAS scale and 50% reduction in DN4 questionnaire respectively. Patients reported a notable improvement in their quality of life, marked by return to simple everyday activities. The implementation of SCS resulted in a reduction in systemic drug therapy. However, one SCS had to be removed due to infection.

Conclusions SCS effectively treats drug-resistant chronic pain, improving patients‘ quality of life in cases of failed back surgery syndrome. This underscores SCS’s potential in challenging scenarios and advocates for its integration into specialized centers of excellence. SCS significantly reduces the burden of chronic pain, offering a safe alternative to traditional methods. Embracing SCS represents a crucial advancement in optimizing patient outcomes.

  • Spinal cord stimulation
  • Chronic pain
  • Neuropathic pain.

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.