Cephalad Migration of Spinal Cord Stimulator Lead: A Case Report.

Background: Since the introduction of neuromodulation, significant advances in technology and safety have been achieved. Despite these improvements, complications are frequently observed. Among these complications, lead migration has been reported as the most common, with significant cephalad displacement being among the rarest for this type.

Case report: We present a case of a 69-year-old woman with chronic low back pain that experienced lead migration from T8 to T3 during the trial period, leading to an unsuccessful trial.

Conclusions: Although rare, drastic displacement in the cephalad direction of a spinal cord stimulator lead has been reported in the literature and warrants recognition. There are multiple potential etiologies that could explain this movement. There is a need to further study its mechanism, how the current methods for securing the lead perform, and developing better options for securing the device.