Hardware Failures in Spinal Cord Stimulation for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an efficient means for treatment of the postsurgical lumbar spine condition known as failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Although the devices and the implantation techniques are well established and the technology is sophisticated, there are some complications caused by hardware failures. This study was aimed at identifying the most frequent types of hardware failures and their causes in FBSS patients treated with SCS. In a retrospective analysis, a group of 42 FBSS patients using single lead SCS for 6–74 months was evaluated. Only hardware failures were considered in the analysis, and parameters such as occurrence of failure after primary implantation of the device, frequency and site of failure, stimulation time to failure (TF), and overall time of SCS usage were recorded.

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