Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society
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The efficacy of traditional spinal cord stimulation (t-SCS) tends to decay over time in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). While it has been shown that dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation is extremely effective in t-SCS-naïve patients with CRPS, its efficacy in patients who had previously failed t-SCS is unknown. Given that DRG-SCS and t-SCS target different spinal pathways, a failure with t-SCS should not automatically preclude a patient from attempting DRG-SCS. ⋯ Our case series demonstrates that a failure of t-SCS is not necessarily a failure of neurostimulation as a whole. The efficacy of DRG-SCS is independent of prior t-SCS therapy outcomes in these two patients and a history of t-SCS failure serves no predictive value in these two patients for future DRG stimulation success. Therefore, DRG-SCS can be considered as a reasonable next-step to salvage patients with CRPS who had failed other SCS treatments.