Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has started offering Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) – an advanced pain management treatment, previously only available overseas. According to HMC, the treatment is changing the lives of patients suffering from chronic pain.

SCS is an advanced pain management treatment offered through HMC’s network of pain management clinics, the first of its kind in Qatar. The treatment is used for patients suffering from chronic back or limb pain when alternative treatment options have proved unsuccessful.

It involves passing thin wires with electrical leads on their tips through a needle into a patient’s back. An electrical pulse generator is then placed under the skin to emit electrical currents to the spinal column. Pain is reduced because the electrical current interrupts the pain signal from reaching the brain.

Although not everyone is a suitable candidate for SCS treatment, those patients who have gone through it have reported a 50 to 70% reduction in overall pain resulting in a drastic improvement in their ability to take part in normal work, social and family activities. Patients are also often able to decrease or stop taking pain medication after receiving treatment and there is a significant improvement in the quality of their life.

Moza al-Mansouri, a Qatari patient suffering from long term chronic back pain has been successfully treated with spinal cord stimulation.

Although other treatments such as fluoroscopy-guided steroid injections and pulse radiofrequency therapy provided a degree of short-term pain relief, it did not remove the need to find a long-term solution to the chronic pain she was suffering. HMC introduced spinal cord stimulation treatment in Qatar in August 2015 and al-Mansouri was found to be a suitable candidate.

Al-Mansouri said: “I used to be in constant pain and had exhausted all treatment avenues – nothing I tried seemed to help. Spinal cord stimulation has changed my life. I was able to receive both the initial treatment and follow-up appointments in Qatar. The treatment has changed my life and I can now carry out everyday tasks like sitting, sleeping and walking without any pain.”

Dr Wael Saleem, consultant anaesthesiologist and head of Chronic Pain Management at HMC said: “By offering our patients the option to receive SCS treatment in Qatar, we can spare them the strain of international travel and the many weeks away from home which treatment abroad necessitates. Our department is proud to be the first healthcare provider to offer this treatment in Qatar.”

Patients suffering from chronic pain who are interested in SCS treatment are usually referred through one of HMC’s 12 pain management clinics. This is followed by additional investigations to determine if they are suitable candidates for SCS treatment.