The pain pump, also implanted under the skin, is a
doughnut-sized device with a timer that releases a small
amount of medicine into the spinal fluid that bathes the
nerves carrying pain signals to the brain. “Instead of the
patient taking large amounts of pain medication by mouth,
with the pump we deliver a hundredth of a dose, or
sometimes a thousandth of a dose, but we give it right
where it matters,” Dr. Zerris says. The medicine is refilled
usually every three months by needle injection; the pump
must be replaced every seven years, which is the life of
the battery.
These devices offer relief to patients who have had no
success with any other pain therapies or have previously
had spinal surgery that failed. “We are treating the worst
of the worst, and we still have a very high success rate,”
says Dr. Zerris.
Neurosurgeons can learn about these procedures through
Scott & White’s newly created spine and pain surgery
fellowship program. The yearlong fellowship, approved
by the Texas Medical Board, is the first of its kind in Texas
and one of only a few in the country, Dr. Zerris says. The
first fellow started this summer.
Dr. Zerris believes Scott & White is one of a few Central
Texas hospitals where the same surgeons have experience
with both minimally invasive spinal and pain-relief
procedures. “That’s the future,” he says. “It’s not just being
a spine surgeon, it’s not just being a pain doctor—it’s being
both. We want to pass that unique skill set down to other
people, and that’s why we formed this combined spine and
pain fellowship.”
For some back pain patients, an implanted stimulator
and pain pump can provide relief.
sw.org | Summer 10 THE CATALYST
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