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For a permanent stimulator, that means we've done the test on the patient. It's worked
extremely well and they want to do the permanent. What we do is the day that we take out the
test stimulator, I sit down, and once again, go over the process of a permanent stimulator.
It's usually done about two weeks later. It's also a relatively simple medical procedure.
The difference in the test and the permanent stimulator is that the permanent stimulator
has the battery implanted under the skin versus the test, where it's on top.
In the test stimulator, we mentioned that there's four very, very thin, little, what
look like IV tubes, actually plastic-covered wires under the skin over the eyebrows and
then in the back of the head. With the test unit, conceptually, the little leads come
out of the skin to a battery on the outside of the body.
With the permanent stimulator, we pass the leads from the front, the little wires from
the front around the right side to the back of the head, and then all four of them, there's
two in the back under the skin to where the battery is. This is the battery we use for
the implant. This is actually their newest model that's available.
It doesn't matter where in the body for the permanent stimulator that the battery goes.
It can go anywhere. For technical reasons, we usually put the battery under the upper
outer rear, the upper outer gluteal region. A little incision is made. The battery is
inserted into the skin and closed up. With the permanent stimulator from this battery,
we have those four tiny little wires passing under the skin, again two to the back of the
head, two over the right ear to just above the eyebrows. What the patient will feel is
this very mild, little tingling sensation in the forehead and the back of the head.
Again, it's very mild. People ask me a tingling sensation. Sometimes, the patient will say,
"I guess I could get used to that." It seems like it could be a nuisance. It's not the
case for patients that this unit works in. What they report is it feels great. It's very
soothing