Postsurgical Pathologies Associated with Intradural Electrical Stimulation in the Central Nervous System: Design Implications for a New Clinical Device
Figure 3
Summary of the types of neurosurgical complications reported during the early clinical use (ca. 1970) of intradural spinal cord stimulators in patients. (a) The baseline situation is shown in which the intradural array has been implanted either immediately under the dura, within the CSF layer, or directly on the dorsal surface of the spinal cord, with its leads traversing the dura, which forms a seal around them. (b) The difficulty encountered most frequently is shown: leakage of the CSF at the point where the leads traverse the dura. (c) Spinal cord contusion. (d) Infection within the spinal canal. (e) Formation of an intradural hematoma compressing the spinal cord. (f) Chronic formation of scar tissue or mature fibrous tissue around the stimulator.
