Spinal cord stimulation complications

Adverse events associated with spinal cord stimulation are not common but do occur and can be divided into surgical and hardware complications. Surgical complications include hematoma, seroma, CSF hygroma, infection, wound dehiscence, dural puncture, and spinal cord injury. Many surgical complications can be avoided by preoperative medical planning ¹⁾.

Paddle lead migration rate was reported to be about 4.8% and generally believed to be less common than percutaneous filiform lead placement ²⁾.

Spontaneous Ascending Migration of a Paddle Lead ³⁾.

Infections associated with S. aureus most likely required (partial) hardware removal. Aggressive surgical treatment including hardware removal shortens the duration of antimicrobial treatment. Clear strategies should be developed to treat hardware-related infections to optimize patient management and reduce health- and economic-related burdens ⁴⁾