Approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July cleared the way for a new spinal cord stimulation system to treat chronic pain associated with diabetic neuropathy – and Mayfield is among the first to offer the new treatment.
The approved system from Nevro Corp. is the only system of its kind available to patients. Physicians estimate that up to one-quarter of the 30 million Americans with diabetes will develop diabetic neuropathy. Nerve damage from the diabetic condition can cause disabling burning or stabbing pain, often in the legs or feet. Lifestyle adjustments such as blood-sugar management and careful care of the feet often are used with patients, but there have been few approved approaches that specifically target the neuropathic pain.
“People who suffer from peripheral diabetic neuropathy live with pain every day,” said Dr. Marc Orlando, an interventional pain specialist at Mayfield and a consultant with Nevro. “This new approved solution offers an option to relieve these persistent and often agonizing symptoms through spinal cord stimulation. I believe it can make a real difference for our patients.”
Called HFX, the approved Senza spinal cord stimulation system is programmed to include a frequency of 10 kHz. In spinal cord stimulation, a device about the size of a small cookie is implanted in the spine and delivers electrical pulses to the spinal cord, masking pain signals before they reach the brain. It is used most often to help patients after conservative therapies have failed and when the patient would not benefit from additional surgery. Neurosurgeons have used spinal cord stimulation for decades, but recent advances produce faster and more efficient technology – up to 10,000 beats per second.
In a recent study, 92% of patients with painful diabetic neuropathy reported high satisfaction with the therapy.
For more information on the HFX system, visit www.HFXforPDN.com. For more information on spinal cord stimulation, visit Mayfield’s Health Topics library at https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-stim.htm.