Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy — Five-Year Follow-up

To the Editor: Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a painful, disabling disorder of unknown pathophysiological origin that usually commences after trauma to or surgery on a limb. In chronic cases, the syndrome leads to extreme pain, disability, and an inability to work, symptoms that dramatically change the lives of both patients and their families.1,2 We undertook the present trial to determine whether treatment of chronic reflex sympathetic dystrophy with spinal cord stimulation and physical therapy is more effective than treatment with physical therapy alone. In spinal cord stimulation, an electrode is positioned in the epidural space on the dorsal aspect . . .