Language

English

Publication Date

3-1-2023

Journal

Pain Medicine Case Reports

PMID

40960326

Abstract

Background: The management of traumatic brachial plexus injury is challenging. Treatment options consisting of physical therapy, pharmacologic therapy, and injection therapy often provide inadequate analgesia. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has emerged as a potential therapy for treatment of pain related to brachial plexus injury.

Case report: We present a case of a 37-year-old man with painful ballistic trauma to multiple cords of the left brachial plexus refractory to medications and therapies. The patient was treated with a temporary 60-day PNS targeting the brachial plexus providing 90% improvement in pain intensity persisting 7 months postintervention.

Conclusions: The case supports the efficacy of a temporary PNS system as a minimally invasive treatment option for brachial plexus injuries resulting in refractory neuropathic pain. Extended lead implantation of the temporary PNS device beyond the US Food and Drug Administration-approved 60 days may be of benefit to patients, although the potential risk of infection should be assessed and monitored.

Keywords

Traumatic brachial plexus injury, case report, neuromodulation, neuropathic pain, peripheral nerve stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulator

Published Open-Access

yes

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.