Resident Cedars-Sinai Neurosurgery Los Angeles, California, United States
Introduction: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a reversible treatment for many chronic pain syndromes that involves either open surgical placement of paddle electrodes or percutaneous placement of cylindrical leads. Patients may undergo removal of SCS electrodes for a number of reasons. We sought to describe complications associated with removal of SCS electrodes, for the first time in a large cohort of patients that included both paddle and cylindrical electrodes.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 139 patients who underwent removal of spinal cord stimulator electrodes at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center between 2014 and 2022.
Results: 9 out of 139 patients (6.5%) experienced postoperative complications, 7 of which occurred in patients who underwent more extensive concurrent spine surgeries. A complication occurred in only two of the 82 patients (2.4%) who had removal of their electrodes as a standalone procedure. In all but one of the cases the electrodes were able to be removed in their entirety.
Conclusion : Surgical removal of both cylindrical and paddle SCS electrodes is associated with a low rate of complications, with most complications attributed to larger concurrent surgeries rather than the removal of electrodes themselves.