Can I get spine MRI with implanted vagus nerve stimulator?

Try calling 507-284-4773 and ask. I hope that's radiology and not general appointments.

@bajjerfan Doesn’t work. Have to see an orthopedic provider in Mayo before I can even find out whether Mayo Radiology can do the MRI. I have a referral for the MRI from Three Crosses Medical Orthopedic in Las Cruces, NM, but Mayo won’t accept it. Too much travel and expense for me since I might not even get the MRI.

https://www.google.com/search
A lot of places should be able to do it. Doesn't seem to be rocket science. Maybe the manufacturer of your device could suggest a place.

@kailingsh,
Sorry about the problems you're having getting an MRI at Mayo without seeing a provider.

But to answer your question about MRIs and nerve stimulators. My friend has an INSPIRE device implanted in her chest. Inspire is an implant that delivers gentle pulses to your airway muscles. So, maybe similar to a vagus nerve stimulator, she lives in NC and has to use specific MRI machines. As someone else recommended, contact the device manufacturer to find out more about MRI machines that do not interfere with the device.

Can your provider recommend other imaging centers that can provide the MRI?

Your neurologist would need to work with a neurologist at the facility where the MRI will be done, since it has to be turned off [among other things] before the MRI can be done and then turned back on after the MRI is over. Peruse the search link I provided.

Also your neurologist should be able to assist you.

First I have to find a neurologist who is familiar with and has the equipment capable of programming my VNS device. The closest would be 100 miles away and they haven’t yet responded to my inquiry about their capabilities. My device was made before 2006, when it was implanted, and is not MRI compatible according to Cyberonics, the manufacturer. Later models are. Yet some radiologists think they may be able do the MRI in correlation with a neurologist who can make adjustments. My device was turned off in about 2010 and has remained off since it did not improve my bipolar disorder symptoms.

@kailingsh
Not being familiar with VNS, I searched Connect about. There is discussion in some other groups about VNS and the ability to have MRIs, mostly in the Epilepsy & Seizures group. Including this comment about the removal of the VNS.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1471181/
Have you ever considered having it removed?

@roch Thank you for your interest and guidance regarding VNS removal. Between that and chatGPT I now know a great deal more about the surgery and who the best surgeons are. The first thing I did was contact LivaNova which bought Cyberonics, the maker of my VNS. The woman I talked with in their Technical Department said my VNS model is not MRI compatible. They should know, but I don’t trust them since even a local radiologist said he could do the MRI given direction from a neurologist experienced with VNS and able to access my device for programming before and after the MRI. Now I’m trying to contact the University of New Mexico VNS department and may travel the 4 1/2 hours to Albuquerque to consult with a doctor there. My next step might be to make an appointment at Mayo and fly up there, probably only to find out that my VNS needs to be surgically removed. Since it’s been 20 plus years after implantation this could be a very touchy procedure due to scar tissue around the vagus nerve and could paralyze at least one of my two vocal cords. This happened when the lead was installed in 2005 and I could only whisper for a couple months. I can no longer sing and my voice is still not the same, so I’m afraid of what might happen if the surgery has some permanent side effects. In the meantime I’ll live with the leg pain that is probably emanating from nerves in my lower back (unless it continues to get a lot worse). My motto in life is “when you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything”.