Timing and prevalence of revision and removal surgeries after spinal cord stimulator implantation

Abstract

We performed a retrospective study to characterize the timing and prevalence of revision and removal surgeries after spinal cord stimulator (SCS) implantation in patients with chronic pain. In our analysis of 100 patients who had SCS implants, we found that 34% of patients underwent revision surgery and 53% of patients had their implant removed. Of the patients who required revision surgeries, the majority (56%) eventually opted for removal of their SCS system. The median time to the first revision surgery was 16 months post implantation and the median time to removal was 39 months post implantation. Our findings demonstrate that most SCS systems are removed within a few years post implantation, highlighting the clinical need for a more complete understanding of SCS technology in order to refine patient selection criteria.