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It is the practice in many centres to externalise deep brain electrodes in functional neurosurgery to confirm efficacy of therapy prior to full implantation of the pacemaker. It has been a concern that such practice might lead to an increased rate of infection. We report a retrospective study of the rates of infection in two major centres where all electrodes are externalised in one centre and directly implanted in the other. We have not found an increased rate of infection as a result of externalisation and feel, particularly in pain patients, that doing so can lead to significant cost savings by avoiding ineffective implantations.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.jocn.2003.09.019

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Clin Neurosci

Publication Date

09/2004

Volume

11

Pages

732 - 734

Keywords

Adult, Aged, Brain Diseases, Electric Stimulation Therapy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Risk, Surgical Wound Infection