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Intercostal Neuralgia

Discussion in 'General Discussion Subforum' started by Bill Woods, Jul 26, 2017.

  1. Bill Woods

    Bill Woods Newcomer

    I have had a dorsal root ganglion stimulator, DRGS, installed in my spine for the past three months and have gained a significant reduction in pain caused by intercostal neuralgia, IN. The install was at the University of Florida Shands Hospital and I am the first person in Florida to have the DRGS installed to treat IN. The doctor is Dr. Kumar, a wonderful and compassionate man. This treatment came out of Europe and has only been approved in the US for the past 8 months. It is primarily used to treat leg pain. I had leads placed at t5, t7 and t9 and a battery/generator placed under the skin in my back. I have a remote which allows me to control amp levels. If you go for an install, insist on a longer than 6 day trial period. Six days is not sufficient; in Europe the trial period is 30 days. Medicare covers the cost of the 3 hour operation. Understand this is not the same as a spinal cord stimulator as the leads in this case are placed directly on the affected ganglions, thus allowing only the need for micro amperage versus miliamperage, a ten fold decrease, needed for a SCS. The battery lasts for 3 to 5 years and is not rechargeable. The DRGS is the first treatment that has given me my life back after 3 and one half years of hell due to an open lung surgery wherein the intercostal nerves were damaged when the ribs were spread apart. Discuss this treatment with your pain management doctor since it is so new there is essentially no information as to its use on the internet........bill woods (edit: removed email address, use Private Conversation to contact poster)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2017

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