Spinal Cord Stimulation with Surgical Lead Improves Pain and Gait in Parkinson's Disease after a Dislocation of Percutaneous Lead: A Case Report

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is receiving increasing interests for treating pain and gait disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In an SCS study, it is hard to apply a double-blind approach, especially at low frequencies, as the stimulation normally induces paresthesia which can be perceived by the patient. We herein demonstrate a case treated with SCS in which a blinding design was accomplished by an accidental dislocation of a stimulation lead. A 73-year-old man with PD was admitted to our hospital because of relapsed low back pain. This was due to the dislocation of a previously implanted SCS lead, which caused a decrease in its effectiveness in alleviating pain (from 81 to 43% measured by King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale) and improving gait (from 35 to 28% measured by the timed up and go test). A second SCS surgery using a paddle lead solved this problem, with improvements in pain and gait rebounded to 81 and 45%. In this case, the paresthesia induced by SCS (using either a paddle lead or percutaneous leads) was below the threshold of perception when the patient was sitting and standing, and a dislocation of one previously implanted percutaneous lead did not cause evident changes in his sensation of paresthesia. At last follow-up, the patient's quality of life had improved by 40% as measured by the 8-item Parkinson's Disease questionnaire (PDQ-8). This study could serve partly as a proof that low-frequency SCS is effective in improving pain as well as gait problems in PD patients, which was unlikely a result of a placebo effect.