10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation for Combined Alleviation of Post-Laminectomy Syndrome and Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Case Report

Chronic pain affects roughly 50 million Americans, or 20.4% of the national population, and is a huge economic burden on society. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a cost-effective interventional treatment modality for patients with chronic neuropathic and radicular pain. It is traditionally reserved for patients suffering from post-laminectomy syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, or chronic back pain that is refractory to other less invasive techniques. There have been a few cases describing the use of SCS at higher levels to successfully obtain coverage of visceral abdominal pain. Here we describe an interesting case of a patient who suffered from chronic back pain and radiculopathy with post-laminectomy syndrome as well as chronic abdominal pain. We describe the use of high-frequency SCS to alleviate the patient’s post-laminectomy pain as well as his abdominal pain. Our case describes SCS use with multi-level lead placement targeting both post-laminectomy pain and abdominal pain. We describe a strategy that can be useful to patients with concurrent pain from more than one source. Our case also adds to the growing evidence supporting the use of SCS for treating chronic visceral pain syndromes.