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Anyone here dealing with peripheral neuropathy?
Neuropathy | Last Active: Jun 12 10:31am | Replies (2973)Comment receiving replies
Hi Jim, a Burst DR stimulator as a spinal cord implant, is that a difficult operation or a routine implant? What is the cost in the US? I wonder if I can find such a methode here in Switzerland where I have tried just about everything and would like to evaluate this method through my neurologists.
Thanks for your help and continued success, felix
Replies to "Hi Jim, a Burst DR stimulator as a spinal cord implant, is that a difficult operation..."
I don't really know the cost, but you can get information about it at Burst DR at either St. Jude or Abbott. The technology was recently purchased by Abbott from St. Jude. My insurance covers the implant (I hope!).
The equipment includes a controller, which is like a small cellphone, wires, and a battery. The first thing they do is a week long trial, which involves a minor surgery to connect wires to the nerves that lead to where the pain is. If you receive at least 50% pain relief, you can be approved for a permanent implant.
The battery pack is quite small, and is placed under your skin as close to the wires as possible, through a 2 inch incision. Another incision is made through which they feed the wires into the space around your spinal cord, and attach the leads to the nerves. Recovery from the surgery takes 6 to 8 weeks, with the typical post surgery limitations. As soon as the surgical inflammation has gone down and the scar tissue has healed, which for me was 4 weeks, the system will be able to send its signals.
That's a brief summary. You can find more online. Be sure to look for Burst DR. The letters, DR, are the inventor's initials, and there are other stimulators that don't have the DR, and they don't have the same benefits. The inventor's name is Dirk de Ridder, and he lives in Europe.
Others might have more to add to what I said.
Jim
Great, many thanks, I just got a link from John and will inquire over here, sounds like a futuristic solution available now, best wishes from Switzerland, felix
Hi @swiss @jimhd - here are the links for more info for the Burst DR:
St. Jude Medical - http://bit.ly/2m3Wmow
YouTube video on how it works - http://bit.ly/2tfcfeS
YouTube video on Burst DR patient trial - http://bit.ly/2ve7pzI
John
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Hi Felix, I found a lot of links that show research and development being done in Switzerland but I couldn't find any treatment centers. Here is another patient story from Mayo Clinic about the spinal cord stimulator - http://mayocl.in/2udu6Xx.
Do you think if you shared it with your neurologists they might have contacts to see if it's being done in Switzerland? Here are a couple of links discussing the research done in Switzerland:
http://www.neuromodulation.com/switzerland
http://bit.ly/2vceXCZ
Here's a link that discuss the cost and estimates around $17,000 - http://bit.ly/2tMvXQX. It would be interesting to see how much it has cost for those who have had the spinal cord stimulator implant.
Hoping you find some help.
John