Case Report: Rescue of Relapsed Pain in a Patient with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II by Adding Another Dorsal Root Ganglion Lead.

Abstract

We present on a patient with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) following ankle surgery. Pain was refractory to both conservative and surgical measures including neurotomies, ankle fusion, hardware removal, and spinal cord stimulation (SCS) trial. A dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation trial with lead placements at L4, L5, and S1 provided significant pain and functional improvement. However, during the implantation, we were able to place only two DRG leads at L4 and L5 and not S1 due to difficulties with advancing the lead to the desired location. Nonetheless, the two DRG leads provided 90% pain relief and 75% functional improvement for 9 months. However, the patient experienced pain symptoms similar to that of pre-implant without a clear trigger after 9 months despite no DRG stimulator hardware malfunction or lead migration. A decision was made to re-try implanting the S1 DRG lead, which was successful and provided significant pain relief.