Hi Angie!

Sorry for the trouble you are having.

I had two St Jude stimulators put in last June, one cervical and one thoracic. I had to have a revision on the thoracic one in November. The leads had migrated, so they changed out the percutaneous leads for paddle leads. It did help me greatly!! I am a fan of St Jude since it helps me and I have great reps. I do not have any experience with the other brands.

They opted for separate units so they could use the max number of leads on each of them. The cervical one needs to cover both of my arms and hands, which it does pretty well. Unfortunately, I have a pinched nerve in my neck also and it doesn't help it...well, it might if I crank it way up but I can't tolerate it way up!!

Luckily these surgeries did not cause a spread for me, but hitting my foot on the door jam did...go figure!

Good luck at your appointment, I hope you can get the relief you need.
Nanc

You should be able to talk to your doctor about doing blocks before the surgery if you are worried about the spread. It sounds like it might be a good idea if you aren't getting the coverage you need. I know how frustrated you must feel to "start over" and go through the recovery all over again, but if it could help that would be great. I did go through a revision but I kept the same unit and the leads needed to be moved down, so it was not as complex as yours. However, I am very glad with my decision to go through with my revision because my coverage was so much better after, and we all deserve good coverage and relief. You mentioned your surgeon is new so do you feel that you can trust him and does he have a good reputation?

And a Belated 'Welcome' to you!
I'm sorry that I'm a day late and dollar short. I've been gone.

It sounds like you and your doctor have a good plan going. I'll anxiously await your update.
My revision was a very minor one, as Mark had mentioned. One of my leads had migrated down 6 inches and it evidentally had been like that for quite awhile. So, when we realized I was getting plenty good coverage from the one lead, we just pulled the migrated lead and I'm doing quite well with only one lead.

I pray that your procedure goes according to plan and that also you can get that pinched nerve fixed!

Caring!
Rae