DT Health: Apollo doctors perform India’s first DRG stimulation surgery

CHENNAI: A team of spine surgeons and pain specialists at Apollo Cancer Centre (ACC), Chennai, performed India’s first Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) stimulation surgery using a spinal cord stimulator, bringing life-changing relief to a 30-year-old patient from Oman.

The patient endured constant, debilitating pain in his groin and upper thigh area for over two years after undergoing surgery for a testicular tumour in Oman.

After a thorough evaluation and multidisciplinary team efforts, the patient was found to have pain originating from a damaged nerve in the inguinal region (the area where the lower abdominal wall meets the upper thigh).

The genitofemoral nerve is a primarily sensory nerve that supplies the upper thigh and emerges from the spine, passing through muscles to reach the inguinal region.

During the surgery in this area, the nerve was damaged, causing severe pain to the patient. It is known as genitofemoral neuralgia.

By implanting a spinal cord stimulator to stimulate the Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) in the patient's spine, they were able to block pain sensations originating from the damaged nerve.

This first-of-its-kind unconventional procedure offers a viable treatment for patients whose pain originates from nerve damage and whose lives are severely impacted by chronic and unmanageable pain.