Spinal Cord Stimulators of the Thoracic Spine

I have been placing spinal cord stimulators and people’s thoracic spines for approximately 15 years. Initially the stimulation that we could administer to that part of the thoracic spine because the buzzing sensation to envelope the patient's low back and the legs. Some people felt it was better than their pain some people really could not stand that type of feeling. And then about 4 to 5 years ago, high-frequency stimulation came into the spinal cord stimulators. The stimulation from a high-frequency stimulator is different. Instead of a strange sensation, the stimulation just decreases pain.

I have seen many patients for consideration of spinal cord stimulators. I like to look at the patient's entire spine to see if there is anything I can do to fix the original problem. If there is nothing more to do from a surgical perspective to improve on the patient's back pain or leg pain or the patient just does not want to really go through an extensive low back reconstruction, then a spinal cord stimulator may be perfect for the patient looking for pain control.

As a spine surgeon when I am putting a spinal cord stimulator in I placed the paddle leads at about the T8-T10 levels in the thoracic spine (the part of the spine that has ribs attached to it). This area of the spinal cord controls back pain and leg irritation. The operation is best done under general anesthesia. The cord stimulator is then attached to pulse generator (about the size of the pager), and that generator is implanted into the flank region, above the belt line. Once the surgery is healed stimulator is then turned on and the patient can control that stimulator with an external device that can communicate with the pulse generator. Some pulse generators are rechargeable some are not.

In the past when I put the older spinal cord stimulators and people they could no longer get MRIs and the rest of their body. That has now changed. I prefer to place MRI conditional spinal cord stimulators in my patients. These patients can still get MRI scans but they have to be done in the machine with a tesla score less than 1.5.