PA Man Becomes Second US Recipient of Pain Removing Implant

Jeff Hardick received a Christmas miracle this past holiday season. After 3 years of “excruciating burning pain” in his back, he became the second person in the United States to receive a spinal cord stimulator implant that blocks pain signals before they reach the brain. He is now pain free.

In 2003, Hardick injured his back while on his job, where he worked with sheet metal on a hydraulic press. He received medication and was back returned to work within a few weeks. Then a second injury required back surgery, which was followed by yet a third injury, which ultimately caused him so much continual pain he was forced to use a wheelchair.

Even after consulting several specialists, he was unable to find a cure for his pain. His wife worried that he would have a pain attack, which often left him unconscious, while she away at work.

“I was scared to death to open the door,” Terri Hardick said. “Where was I going to find him?”

“I had given up all hope,” Hardick stated, regarding his outlook at that time.

But a lucky break for Hardick came when he ran into an old colleague at the grocery and learned about spinal implants. Luck was on his side again, as St. Luke’s Hospital in Lehigh Valley, PA had recently brought on board Dr. Steven Falowski, a neurosurgeon who works with Parkinson’s patients and specializes in chronic pain.

Once the RestoreSensor Neurostimulator implant received FDA approval, its manufacturer, Medtronic, approached Dr. Falowiski to see if there was a patient that would benefit from the it. Hardick was a match, and he agreed to the surgery.

The RestoreSensor Neurostimulator was implanted into the gluteus muscle of the right buttock. While it does not fix the original injury, the pocket watch-sized device blocks pain signals before they reach the brain, which means that Hardick is now pain free.

Just weeks before the procedure, Hardick could only sit in his wheelchair, unable to move while he dealt with stabs of pain that reached “at least a 10″ (out of 10) on the pain scale; now he is looking forward to strolling on the beach with his wife Terri later this year.

Source:
baltimoresun.com/health/mc-bethlehem-pain-relief-20120105,0,1963820.story

Image source:
articles.mcall.com
mystlukesonline.org
lehighvalleylive.com