Background: Chronic pain after total knee replacement is common but remains poorly understood. Management options for patients with this condition are traditionally limited to pharmacological approaches.
Objective: This article presents a case of using spinal cord stimulation in the management of chronic knee pain following total knee replacement.
Design: Case report.
Setting: Pain management clinic
Methods: A 68-year old patient presented with a 3-year history of persistent knee pain following total knee replacement. After failing to respond to medications and nerve blocks, a trial of spinal cord stimulation and subsequent permanent implantation of a spinal cord stimulator (SCS) were performed. The Oxford knee score (OKS) was used to assess her pain and functionality before and after SCS implantation.
Results: The patient reported improvement in her pain and function. Her baseline OKS was 39 and fell to 26 one year post implantation of an SCS representing a reduction of pain and disability from severe to moderate.
Limitations: A case report.
Conclusion: Spinal cord stimulation might be an option in the management of refractory knee pain following total knee replacement.