Deep Brain Stimulation

The following provides some information on post-implant patient care.

Post-implant Patient Care

Movement Disorders

Following deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, patients typically return to have their sutures removed on a date determined by the clinician. Two to 4 weeks post surgery, a patient may have the neurostimulator(s) turned on and programmed.

Patients may experience symptom relief after the surgery without stimulation. This "microlesion effect" typically wears off in the days following surgery. Some clinicians consider this effect the result of edema around the implanted lead in the brain. When the edema has subsided, the patient's stimulation can be adjusted to maximize therapeutic benefit and minimize side effects.

Some clinicians ask patients to stop taking some or all of their medications for 12 to 24 hours before programming to best observe the effects of stimulation. Patients with severe symptoms may find that reducing or stopping their medications is too uncomfortable. For those patients, the amount of medication they take may be reduced but not eliminated during programming. Patients are typically given a dose of medication following programming to ensure that stimulation effects are stable under medication.

The patient will typically return to his or her clinician frequently in the first few months following surgery to optimize stimulation and titrate medications. Patients then resume a normal schedule of visits with their managing physician to monitor the status of their disease and adjust stimulation as necessary.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Following deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, patients typically return to have their sutures removed on a date determined by the clinician. Two to 4 weeks post surgery, a patient may have the neurostimulator(s) turned on and programmed.

The patient will typically return to his or her clinician frequently in the first few months following surgery to optimize stimulation and titrate medications. Patients then resume a normal schedule of visits with their managing physician to monitor the status of their disease and adjust stimulation as necessary.

Battery Replacement

The neurostimulator battery is designed to last from 2 to 5 years in patients with movement disorders. Depending on the parameters selected, the battery may require replacement in less than 2 years. The neurostimulator battery may last 6-16 months for patients with OCD; using typical stimulation parameters.

Replacement of the neurostimulator is typically done on an outpatient basis. No intracranial procedure is typically necessary.

Resources

This is the user manual for the Access Therapy Controller model 7436 that is used with the Kinetra Neurostimulator.

This is the user manual for the Access Review Therapy Controller model 7438 that is used with the Soletra Neurostimulator.

This guide gives patients quick programming instructions for the Access Therapy Controller model 7436.

This is the patient manual for the Activa RC and Activa PC deep brain stimulation systems.

This is the patient manual for the Soletra deep brain stimulation system for dystonia.

This is the patient manual for the Kinetra and Soletra deep brain stimulation systems.

This is the user manual for the DBS Patient Programmer model 37642 that is used with the Activa RC and PC Neurostimulator.

This is the patient manual for Reclaim™ DBS Therapy for OCD.

* Humanitarian Device: The effectiveness of this device for the treatment of dystonia or obsessive-compulsive disorder has not been demonstrated.