Spinal Cord Stimulation for Relief of Chronic Pain in Vasospastic Disorders of the Upper Limbs

Abstract

Eleven patients with chronic pain due to severe vasospastic disorders in the upper limbs were treated with cervical spinal cord stimulation. In 8 patients the pain was due to reflex sympathetic dystrophy in the late stage of the disease, and 3 patients had severe idiopathic Raynaud's disease. The mean follow-up for both groups was 27 months. A total of 10 patients (90.9%) had good or excellent results. Thermographic and plethysmographic changes were observed in both groups. There seems to be a very close relationship between the increase of blood flow and the amount of pain relief achieved. In an attempt to quantify the intensity of pain, the visual analog scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire were used. Stimulation proved to be harmless, with no mortality and very low morbidity. The latter centered around local infection and displacement of the electrodes. No objective changes occurred in trophic alterations such as bone decalcification and ankylosis, but there were improvements in the alterations in the nails and skin. In the reflex sympathetic dystrophy group, the amount of pain relief achieved enabled most patients to undergo subsequent physiotherapy and rehabilitation. In severe cases of reflex sympathetic dystrophy and idiopathic Raynaud's disease, spinal cord stimulation is an alternative treatment that can be used as primary therapy or as secondary therapy after unsuccessful sympathectomy or sympathetic blocks.