Objective: To analyze the causes of wire tethering in deep brain stimulation (DBS) and propose ways to prevent it.
Methods: A total of 70 consecutive patients (140 electrodes) operated for DBS in our department from September 2017 to December 2019 were analyzed to document wire tethering, respectively, in the initial period (September 2017-June 2018) and the late period (July 2018-December 2019). The patients come back to our clinic 1 month postoperatively to turn on the equipment and followed up any time postoperatively face to face.
Results: Wire tethering was divided into mild, moderate and severe. The frequency of mild wire tethering was 12.5% (2/16) in the initial period and 9.3% (5/54) in the late period. The frequency of moderate wire tethering was 12.5% (2/16) in the initial period and 3.7% (2/54) in the late period. There was only one patient suffered from severe wire tethering in the initial period and none in the late period. There was a significant difference between the initial (31.3%) and the late (13%) periods in the frequency of total wire tethering.
Conclusions: Wire tethering is a rare but serious hardware complication in DBS which should be noteworthy. Improving surgical skill when implanted the extension wire and inventing new material covering extension wire can prevent wire tethering.
Keywords: Wire tethering; complications; deep brain stimulation; frequency.