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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Had Lots Of Surgery On Spine. Now Got Stimulator. Pain In Foot, Nerve Pain. Suggestions?

Hi my name is Pauline am 59years old have had 8 lots surgery on my spine have now got stimulator in spine but have alot pain in my right foot its nerve pain very servere cant put up with it much longer but i really dont want any more surgery had cupping done but nothing lasts live on medication what do u advise for me to do thanku
Thu, 26 Sep 2013
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Spine Surgeon 's  Response
Hi Ms Pauline
Thank you for your question to HCM.

Spinal cord stimulator is implanted for pain control when no structural or treatable cause for pain can be detected. It would be helpful to know the findings in your recent MRI if you have had one.

Revision spine surgery can be technically quite challenging due to scarring as you have had so many surgeries already. However surgery is not the only option. Here are your options

1 Visiting a pain specialist so that a formal pain management protocol can be charted out. I am sure you might have visited the specialist in the past or already seeing one but since you don't want surgery (whether it is needed depends on imaging and correlation with your symptoms) this will be the mainstay of managing the pain.

2 Epidural injections and selective nerve root blocks can be tried depending upon MRI picture but again will be challenging due to a lot of scarring.

3 Medications like pregabalin and gabapentin help to keep nerve related pain under control.

Hope this is helpful. Wish you the best.



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Had Lots Of Surgery On Spine. Now Got Stimulator. Pain In Foot, Nerve Pain. Suggestions?

Hi Ms Pauline Thank you for your question to HCM. Spinal cord stimulator is implanted for pain control when no structural or treatable cause for pain can be detected. It would be helpful to know the findings in your recent MRI if you have had one. Revision spine surgery can be technically quite challenging due to scarring as you have had so many surgeries already. However surgery is not the only option. Here are your options 1 Visiting a pain specialist so that a formal pain management protocol can be charted out. I am sure you might have visited the specialist in the past or already seeing one but since you don t want surgery (whether it is needed depends on imaging and correlation with your symptoms) this will be the mainstay of managing the pain. 2 Epidural injections and selective nerve root blocks can be tried depending upon MRI picture but again will be challenging due to a lot of scarring. 3 Medications like pregabalin and gabapentin help to keep nerve related pain under control. Hope this is helpful. Wish you the best.