Treatment-Limiting Complications of Percutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulator Implants: A Review of Eight Years of Experience From an Academic Center Database

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the long-term implant survival and complications of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) leading to surgical revision or explant in patients treated for chronic noncancer pain.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study of all patients who underwent a percutaneous spinal cord stimulation trial followed by implant in an academic Pain Medicine division by four practitioners from 2007 to 2013, with follow-up data through April 2014.

Results: A total of 345 patients were considered candidates for dorsal column stimulation and underwent a trial. Two hundred thirty-four patients were implanted with an implant-to-trial ratio of 67-86% across various chronic pain entities (postlaminectomy syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, small-fiber peripheral neuropathy, abdominal/pelvic pain, nonsurgical candidates with lumbosacral neuropathy, and neuropathic pain not otherwise specified), with the exception of nonsurgical candidates with lumbosacral neuropathy who had an implant ratio of 43%. The complication rate was 34.6%, with the hardware related being the most common reason, comprising 74.1% of all complications. The revision and explant rates were 23.9% each. The most common reason for explant was loss of therapeutic effect (41.1%).

Conclusions: SCS is an effective treatment for chronic noncancer pain. It is a minimally invasive procedure, safe, and with good long-term outcomes. However, the surgical revision and explant rates are relatively high. As the use of SCS continues to grow, research into the causes of and risk factors for SCS-related complications is paramount to decrease complication rates in the future.