Success of lateral cervical spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic neuropathic refractory pain.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is traditionally performed by implanting surgical leads along the midline of the spinal cord, over the dorsal columns. Here, we present a patient who successfully underwent lateral cervical SCS to treat chronic refractory neuropathic pain. METHODS: A 46-year-old female, with a schwannoma involving the right axillary nerve, presented with a chronic refractory right upper extremity pain syndrome. The tumor was located between the fibers of the teres minor and the posterior deltoid, and measured 2.2 cm in diameter. After 8 months of analgesics, opioids, physiotherapy, and acupuncture, the patient underwent surgery; however, the tumor was unresectable (i.e., due to significant adjacent vascular/neural structures). Three months later, she had a midline C6-C7 laminectomy for placement of a right-sided epidural SCS lead (i.e., containing 16 electrode contacts). RESULTS: Within 4 days following this SCS procedure, the patient's pain completely resolved; at 10 postoperative months, she still remains pain free. CONCLUSION: Lateral SCS at the C6-C7 level provided a safe and effective option for the relief of chronic neuropathic pain attributed to an unresectable schwannoma of the right axillary nerve in a 46-year-old female.

Rare complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunt: Ectopic distal catheter in a Grynfeltt hernia - case report.

BACKGROUND: Ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPSs) insertion is the most common used intervention in cases of hydrocephalus. The main postoperative complications are infections and catheter obstructions. Although the literature has well-documented cases describing migration of the distal catheter, this rare presentation can become more confusing when occurring in conjunction with some unusual preexistent morbidity in the patient, as a Grynfeltt hernia. CASE DESCRIPTION: This study reports a rare case of a VPS postoperative migration, in which the distal catheter exits the abdominal cavity through a Grynfeltt hernia. This condition was not discovered until the catheter fistulated through the overlying skin. The Grynfeltt hernia is the most uncommon among the lumbar ones and it's asymptomatic in the majority of the cases, being hardly diagnosed. CONCLUSION: The unusualness of the reported case deserves furthermore discussion to properly evaluate these underlying mechanisms of catheter migration.